


Starting Fresh

by kleinepfoetchen



Category: Leverage
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-17
Updated: 2021-01-17
Packaged: 2021-03-15 16:33:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 47,295
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28816404
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kleinepfoetchen/pseuds/kleinepfoetchen
Summary: The team has to separate for an undefined period of time. Unwilling to accept that, Parker decides to follow Eliot and convince him that she should join him.
Relationships: Parker/Eliot Spencer (Leverage)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 21





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Reposting a Parker/Eliot fic I wrote in 2013...damn, that's quite some time ago. But I got into Leverage mood again, so here you go. :)
> 
> Disclaimer: I DON’T own anyone or anything. I DON’T own the characters. The fanfic is written for fun, NOT for profit.

5 years ago

“We’re going to see each other again,” Nate had said. “We’re going to see each other again. We always do.”

Parker didn’t know whether Nate had tried to convince them or himself. One fact was clear though: they had to separate. Again. They had eventually managed to pull their job off, but had once again attracted too much attention.

“When?” Parker had asked him. When would they see each other again? In a few weeks? Or months? But all of them had been aware of the fact that a few weeks or even months wouldn’t be enough. Not this time. They had to disappear, had to hide, for long enough so that people would most likely have forgotten about them.

If that was actually possible. During the past years, Parker had learnt to understand her team mates, without them having to voice every thought they had. Of course, she was far from being able to read their minds. But one look into Nate’s face was enough for her to know that there was also another possibility they had to consider.

Not seeing each other again. Having to readjust to working alone. Right at the beginning, that might have worked. Parker had learnt to take care of herself as a little girl already. There had been no other way for her to survive. She had figured out that one couldn’t trust in others: either they would betray or use her. Being alone had been so much easier. After all, one didn’t have to deal with other people, who could be so confusing and frustrating at times.

She should have known what she would get herself into as she had started to work with the team. She had started to like them, and somewhere along the line, they had become like a family for her.

How was she supposed to leave all this behind and start fresh somewhere else? Could she just go back to being the person she’d once been?

The answer was easy. No, she couldn’t. A week after the team had separated, missing them had gotten unbearable. She couldn’t just work alone anymore. First time she had realised that when she had stolen the Hope Diamond, just to put it back again. If even this famous object couldn’t excite her, what could? What was she supposed to do with herself?

No, she had gotten used to being part of a team, and didn’t want to be alone again. Looking for Nate and Sophie wasn’t an option though: those two were a couple, and Parker didn’t want to be in the role of their child, or the fifth wheel. That left Eliot and Hardison. The chances that the latter would welcome her back with open arms were the highest. 

Still she settled for Eliot. Even though he’d probably not show any excitement, caused by her showing up, she doubted he’d send her away either. Why exactly she had chosen to go and look for him she couldn’t tell. It seemed like an instinct she was following, a feeling that it would be right for her, and Parker didn’t bother to analyse her feelings. That usually never led anywhere.

It took her another week to figure out where he had headed to, and another couple of days until she finally found him in Dallas, miles away from where the team had separated. Her heart was hammering hard in her chest as she sneaked into his hotel room, using her chance as he headed to the bathroom for a quick shower. 

She didn't know why exactly he had come to this city, or how long he would stay, but it didn't matter to her. She would convince him that he'd take her with him, no matter where he planned to go. The team had made her taste the sweetness of being part of something. It took her long enough to adjust to changes in the first place. Why should she go through that again?

Sitting on his bed, Parker waited in silence. For a brief moment, she wondered what the others were doing. Where would Nate and Sophie go? Or Hardison? Would they miss the team? Would they miss her? Or would it be easy for them to get used to being on their own again? The idea made her shudder, and the fact that one familiar person was just a door away from her had an even more comforting effect.

After what seemed like eternity, she could hear how the rushing of the shower stopped. A couple of minutes later, the bathroom door was opened. Her heart made another little jump and, taking a deep breath, she straightened herself in an attempt to appear as determined as possible.

“Don't stab me,” she said, announcing her presence, not sure how he would react if her unexpected presence startled him too much. After all, she didn't want to imagine what he could possibly do to a stranger in his hotel room.

“Parker?” Stopping in his tracks, Eliot stared at her in shock. “What the hell...? What are you doing here?!”

“I was looking for you,” Parker answered, feeling how her cheeks started to flush softly. She didn't care whether or not following him had been a good idea. She did wonder how to bring across her wish to join him though, without having to threaten him with saying that she would do so anyway, no matter what he'd say.

“Why?” he asked back, shaking his head at her in disbelief. “We agreed to separate, remember?”

“Well...yeah.” Parker shrugged. “Technically, Nate and Sophie only separated from us. They're still together.”

“Yeah, but...” Once again, Eliot just stared at her. It amused Parker in an odd way to see him like that. So far, she had rarely seen him so confused and taken by surprise. Usually, he was always prepared, for everything. Her sneaking into his hotel room obviously hadn't occurred to him at all.

“We're supposed to separate and hide for a while until they're not looking for us anymore,” he said then. “Not...team up again.”

“I don't want us to team up again. I know we can't do that until things have settled down,” she answered. “I just...”

Her voice trailed off. Yes, what exactly did she want to say? Mentally, she had prepared what she wanted to tell him, but now that she was actually facing her friend, words failed her. She was determined to convince him that he should take her with him, but what would it be like if he just refused to do so and told her to get lost again? After all, he was right. They had to stay away from each other and hide as good as possible to not attract any further attention.

“I know I'm not supposed to be here,” she stated quietly. “But...I don't know what to do.”

“You...what?” Eliot sighed. No longer staring at her like she wasn't actually real, he made his way over to the bed and sat down as well. “Why are you here, Parker? What's this about, huh? And don't talk around in circles again. Just tell me.”

Parker nodded slowly. She knew her endlessly long rambling would only test his nerves more than necessary. He wanted to know her real intentions, no matter how hard it was for her to admit them.

“I don't want to be alone again,” she admitted then, staring at her hands. “See, I was wondering what I could do...like what I could steal, where I could travel. But...it all just didn't sound good to me. Boring, you know? Remember how I stole the Hope Diamond? The Hope Diamond! And even that bored me. I put it back. I never put stuff back! That was years ago, and now...” She groaned. “I know I'm stupid, but...when you're part of a team for so many years, you can't just be alone again from one day to the other! I was alone for all my life, and it was really hard to adjust to being with you guys. It was so new. I had no idea what it's like. Now I do and...”

Once again, her voice trailed off. Talking about feelings was still as hard as it had been before she had joined the team. It made her feel vulnerable. What if the person in front of her used her words to harm her? Apart from that, it was hard enough for her to figure out what she was feeling in the first place.

“You miss it?” Eliot completed for her then.

Not daring to look up, she nodded. “I just don't think traveling around the world and stealing stuff will keep me busy long enough. I mean...I did that for so many years. I stole some of the most famous stuff you can imagine. I tricked some of the biggest security systems in the world. I jumped off one of the highest buildings. There's no challenge anymore. Nothing that can keep me busy.”

“And sneaking into my hotel room actually is a challenge?” he asked back. This time, she looked up. He sounded amused. That was a good sign.

“What if we won't get back together?” she asked then, before she could stop herself. Once again, her face reddened as she added, “I mean...what if they keep on looking for us? What if we'll...never see the others again?”

Speaking out what she had been thinking since they had separated upset her more than she had expected. In silence, she stared back at him, wishing she was able to read his mind at least for once. Would he tell her to go, to find other people, maybe another team?

“What exactly do you want me to do now?” he eventually asked.

Her eyes widened. “What?”

Eliot sighed. “Well, you came here because you want something, right? Did you just come to see me? Or because you want to stay in contact?”

Parker shook her head. “No, I...” She hesitated once again. “I want you to take me with you. I mean, look, Nate and Sophie left together as well.”

He raised his eyebrows at her. “So you think going with me is more interesting than traveling around the world and breaking into museums?” As she nodded, he shook his head at her. “I'm planning to go and see a friend, Parker. Might stay there for a while. There aren't any big, interesting jobs ahead if that's what you were thinking. I want to take a break for a while.”

“Doesn't matter.” She shrugged. “Introduce me to that friend. I promise I'll behave.”

“You and behaving?” Eliot laughed. “I don't think that fits together.” Then, his face turned serious again. “I mean it though. I want to take a break. No jobs, nothing like that.”

Parker nodded. “You don't think I expected that? Nate said we shouldn't do any jobs anyway. We're supposed to hide, maybe start fresh or whatever. That's what he said, remember? So where's that friend living? In Dallas?”

Eliot shook his head. “No. He owns a farm near a little town, not that far away from here actually. He's running it together with his daughter. Frank's an old friend of me, and he agreed to let me stay at his place for a while. Might even work for him. He's in need of some help anyway.”

Parker nodded again. “Good. I can help as well. Four hands get more done than two.”

Once again, he looked at her like she had gone mad. “I said he owns a farm,” he repeated. “You do know what a farm is, right? There are animals. Like horses. And last time I checked, horses didn't really count to your favourite animals.”

“Oh, whatever,” she said. “I'll just stay away from the horses then. Farms are big, right? Shouldn't really have to be around them if I don't want to.”

He didn't reply to that. Instead, he stared at her in silence for endlessly long minutes. Eventually, he shook his head at her. “You're serious, huh?” he wanted to know. “You really want to go with me? Why? I see why Nate and Sophie aren't an option, but why not Hardison?”

Once again, Parker shrugged. “I don't know. Maybe because he'd misunderstand it if I asked to go with him. He might think I have feelings for him. Which I don't. That could be awkward.”

Eliot looked at her in surprise. “You actually know he's got a crush on you?”

Groaning, Parker rolled her eyes at him. “I might be crazy, but I'm not that stupid, okay? But he's only a friend for me, and I don't want him to get it all wrong again. And besides, I thought it'd be nice to go with you. Because...”

Once more, she stopped herself. Because what? Because it felt right to go with him. Because she trusted in him, more than she trusted in any other team member. Because she felt comfortable around him. There were many reasons.

“Whatever,” she said eventually. “So can I go with you? I really promise I'll behave. I'll be nice to your friend, and won't stab him. Or steal his stuff. Just borrow maybe.”

Sighing deeply, he ran a hand through his hair. “Fantastic. What am I getting myself into again?”

A broad smile lit Parker's face at his words. “Means I'll go with you?” She chuckled. “I mean, not that I'd have accepted a 'no' anyway. I'd have just followed you until you'd have agreed.”

He glared at her. “You're crazy, you know that? I swear, if you don't behave...”

“Ah, don't try, you're not scary at all.” Grinning even more, Parker patted his cheek, earning another glare in response. “So...when are we going to head to the farm?”

Once again, Eliot sighed in response, answered her question though. Parker couldn't help the satisfied grin that was spreading across her face. She had convinced him, and no matter what was ahead, it would definitely be better than having to make plans on her own.


	2. Chapter 2

Present day

If one believed that it was hot outside, they would be proven wrong as soon as they entered Jack Anderson’s hardware shop. It was a thick, uncomfortable heat that made Eliot hope he and Parker could finish their shopping and leave again as soon as possible.

Parker didn’t really seem to mind the heat though. Not caring the slightest bit for it, or for why they had come into town in the first place, she hopped from one shelf to the other, examining the goods that were offered there.

“Hey, how does this hat look like on me?” she asked then, appearing behind one of the shelves with said hat on her head and a broad grin plastered across her face. “Isn’t it cool?”

“Don’t you have enough hats by now?” Eliot wanted to know. “Besides, we’re not here for those, you know. We got quite a long shopping list to take care of.”

Shrugging, she ignored his words and disappeared behind the shelf again, still wearing the hat.

“If you ask me,” Jack said, leaning over the counter. “I think she looks hot with that hat.”

Eliot raised an eyebrow in response. “Well, I’m not asking you though, Jack.”

The man just grinned. “Fine. Then show me that long shopping list already.”

Frank’s shopping list, that contained the stuff which was dearly needed at the farm right now, seemed to have disappeared though. Sighing in growing frustration, he looked through his pockets. It didn’t seem like quickly getting in and out of this hot shop really was an option.

“Is it gone?” Jack’s grin widened.

“You’re in a hurry?” Eliot asked back. “Parker, did you take the shopping list?”

Once again, she appeared, behind a different shelf this time. “Why should I do that?”

“Oh, I don’t know, because you never take anything from anyone, right?” He rolled his eyes as she chuckled, still not the slightest bit interested in what they were supposed to do. The jingling sound of the doorbell behind him announced that they weren’t alone in the shop anymore either.

“New guests!” Jack’s eyes sparkled in excitement. “And such fine ones even. You don’t mind, right?”

“And what if I did?”

“Wouldn't give a damn.” Jack winked at him before he turned his attention to the new arrivals. “What can I do for you, Sir?”

“Can you tell us where the next gas station is?”

Startled by the male voice, Eliot looked up. Even after the years that had passed since he had heard it for the last time, he would always recognize it immediately.

“Nate?” His eyes widened as he looked at the couple next to him. “Sophie?”

His friends looked equally surprised to see him, in silence staring back. Five years hadn’t changed much, although Nate looked a lot more relaxed than he had on their parting day. Sophie, always the lady, looked as beautiful and classic as she always had.

“I promise I didn’t take it, but looks like I found your shopping list!”

Parker’s voice echoed through the shop, causing the three of them to spin around. She stopped in her tracks.

“Parker?” Sophie asked disbelieving.

“Sophie? Nate?” Parker asked in shock. “What...are you doing here?”

“I just wanted to ask you the same question,” Sophie replied.

Nate didn’t say anything. Eliot studied the former mastermind in silence, needing his time to let realisation of who they had run into sink in. A hardware store in a tiny town, miles away from the next bigger city. How high were the chances that they could meet at a place like this?

For a brief moment, he wondered if maybe this encounter wasn’t so unexpected after all. Was it possible that Nate and Sophie had somehow managed to track them down? According to their reaction, this theory didn’t seem to be likely though.

“You know my new customers?”

Interrupted in his thoughts by Jack’s question, Eliot nodded. “Yeah,” he said. “It’s been a while though.”

“Oh, a reunion?” Jack’s grin returned. “You know what? Why don’t you guys just sit down outside, have a little chat while I’m taking care of that shopping list of you?”

“Sounds like a plan.” With a wave of his hand, Eliot signalled the couple to follow him while Parker wordlessly handed the list over to Jack.

\----------------

It had taken them a while to get over the shock, caused by this unexpected reunion. Five years ago, the team had separated to disappear for a while, to wait until things would have settled down. Even though Nate had promised they would see each other again, there had always been the unspoken option that maybe they would never reunite.

Five years had passed. Five years during which the team members had been forced to move on, to start fresh and make sure that people would slowly start to forget about them. Five years of not seeing each other, of living a life that was so different to the one they had shared for years.

Who could blame them for being overwhelmed by running into each other so suddenly? Like Eliot had expected, Nate and Sophie indeed hadn’t come to look for them. The couple had been on their way to Dallas, coincidentally stopping in town, in need of a gas station. According to them, they had spent most of those fives years with travelling, staying in different cities, simply enjoying the fact that they could go wherever they wanted, could do whatever they wanted. The stories the reunited friends had to tell couldn’t have been more different from each other.

“And you’re living out here?” Sophie wanted to know. “On a farm?”

Eliot nodded. “Yeah. Frank's an old friend of me. He's running the farm with his daughter, and he offered me to come over for a bit. He's always in need of some help, too. Then Parker showed up and forced me to take her with me.”

Parker, who hadn't spoken much since Nate's and Sophie's arrival, looked up with narrowed eyes. “Hey, I didn't force you!”

“You did,” he said. “You sneaked into my hotel room and talked me into it. Plus you said you'd have followed me anyway, even if I had said 'no'.”

“True.” She offered a brief smile, which quickly disappeared again. Not adding more to the exchange, she stared at the small, old table in front of her. With a raised eyebrow, he studied her. Something was wrong: she couldn't have been more obvious. Parker had changed a lot during the last few years, had learnt a lot, just like him. But some things would always stay the same. Her excitement and tendency to get hyperactive were only two examples.

Now she was facing two of their closest friends again, after five years, all the time believing that maybe she would never see the others again. But instead of getting excited and babbling like a child on Christmas, she barely looked up and seemed to be troubled in a way he hadn't seen for a long time.

“And you decided to stay at the farm?” Sophie asked then, still unable to understand. “For five years? The two of you?”

Eliot resisted the urge to laugh at the look she was giving them, especially the blonde next to him. He couldn't blame her for this reaction. That he'd be able to stay at the farm for quite a while had never been up to debate. He loved the countryside, not just because it reminded him of his childhood.

But Parker? The thief who liked to jump off high buildings and sneak into museums to steal? The woman who had shown an unrealistic but strong fear of horses? The crazy girl that got bored when she couldn't get the next adrenaline kick as quickly as possible? No, that Parker would like to stay at the farm longer than a few days or weeks had seemed like a joke to him back then. Parker and being a farmer's girl: that just didn't fit together.

Eventually, things had turned out just like that though.

“At first, we just planned to stay for a few days, or weeks. To relax, you know? And think about what else we could do,” he explained, not expecting Parker to speak up again if she wasn't asked directly. “Well, turned out that things never really go the way you plan them. Weeks grew into months, and somewhere along the line, we gave up on the idea of going somewhere else and instead stayed here.” He paused as he felt Parker's gaze on him. Turning to her, he found her watching him closely. Her expression was a little more open now, but what he could see only proved his theory right that something was bothering her.

“Seems like sometimes the unexpected is what fits to you the most,” Eliot added then. “Right?”

For a brief second, Parker offered a true, little smile as she nodded. The smile disappeared again as she turned back to the couple in front of them.

“I think I know what you mean,” Nate replied, nodding to emphasize his words. Yes, if someone understood them, it was the mastermind, who had changed from an honest man into the leader of a bunch of thieves. People could settle down with a life that was absolutely different to everything they knew, as long as it felt right to them.

“And how long are the two of you together already?” Nate wanted to know then. Parker's eyes widened at his question, but Eliot wasn't surprised by it. Nate knew how to read people, and thanks to Sophie had advanced his skills of reading body language, too. It had only been a question of time until he would realise this little detail as well.

“Together?” Sophie asked, raising her eyebrows. “I'd rather like to know since when you're married.” She smirked at the look Nate gave her in response. “What? You noticed they're together but didn't see the rings? Parker's been playing with hers all the time.”

Parker's cheeks flushed softly as she quickly let go of the item in question and hid her hand under the table. “Oops,” she said.

“It's not like it's a secret,” Eliot replied.

“No, but they don't know it yet,” she answered. “Well, now they do, but they didn't know before.”

Parker still looked embarrassed though. So far, neither of them had discussed how they would reveal the fact that they had gotten married to their friends. This question simply hadn't come to their mind. A lot had happened during those five years. A lot was different now, and the old world they had come from, the old world they had to leave behind the day the team had separated had moved into the distance more and more with every passing day. Living at the farm with Frank and his daughter and minding their daily business had become the center of their attention somewhere along the line. Things had developed and changed with the time. They had started fresh, like they had been supposed to, in a way neither of them had expected.

“We got together around a month after we arrived here,” Eliot answered then. “Happens when you're spending so much time together. You start to see each other from a different point of view.” Once again, he threw a quick glance at his quiet wife before he added, “We got married last year.”

“Wow.” It was Sophie's turn to give them an odd look in response. Neither she nor Nate had been prepared for meeting them out here, but especially not for what they had to tell. Living on a farm. Being not just together but even married. Who would have seen that coming?

“Seems like we missed a lot,” she added then, almost looking a little upset.

Nate, sensing her sudden change of mood, decided to step in again. “Did you hear anything about Hardison?”

“Yeah, we did,” Eliot said. “He's moved to Dallas a while ago. Has a girlfriend now, too. He's actually attended our wedding. In fact, that was the main reason why he showed up and decided to stay in the city. He's somehow managed to track us down out here and then showed up at the wedding. Was quite a surprise, wasn't it?”

Parker nodded. “Yes. He came with his girlfriend Anna. She's nice.”

“That's good to hear,” Sophie replied, offering a tiny smile that couldn't hide what she was really thinking though. Five years were a long time. Indeed, they had missed a lot.

“Are you okay?” Nate asked.

“Yes. Of course.” She nodded. “It's just that...back then, I hoped we wouldn't be apart for so long. I told you so, do you remember? But in fact, all of us knew that we had to move on and start fresh somewhere else. It's what we did, but...I think I just didn't expect that some of us would be able to start a whole new life.”

“It's what we had to do,” Parker said, once again playing with her ring. “When we parted the first time, it was just for a few months, and this whole 'working together' thing was new to us. We missed it, but...it was different. Now...we had to split up and hide. You said so. But...some of us couldn't just go back to being who they were, because it didn't feel right and because they knew it wouldn't keep them busy long enough, or entertained, and because they couldn't just be alone again after needing so long to adjust to not being alone. And so they had to find something else, and this 'something else' had to be new and different.” She paused, looking Nate straight into the eyes. “You never believed we'd see each other again, right? That's why you told us to try and start fresh somewhere else. Because you thought there wasn't really a chance we'd be a team again. Despite what you kept on saying to us. You thought we were done, but you didn't want to say so, and so you told us to go and do something else. Right?”

Nate stared back at her in silence for a couple of moments. “I think so, yeah,” he admitted then. “And it seems like trying something else is what you did.”

Parker only nodded in response. Once again, she broke the eye contact. The discomfort that was radiating from her had increased. A strange tension was in the air, creating an awkward atmosphere.

“Do you know what I'm thinking, Nate?” Sophie asked then, a sudden determined expression in her eyes. “She's right, we all believed we wouldn't see each other again. Now we're here though. Call it a coincidence or whatever else you like, but I think Dallas can wait. Shouldn't we stay in town for a bit? There's so much catching up to do.”

Nate raised an eyebrow at the hopeful look she was giving him. He sighed. “As if I'd say 'no' to that.” He smirked lightly at the bright smile that lit Sophie's face. “It's a small town, but there's surely a motel somewhere, right?”

“You could also stay at the farm,” Eliot offered, speaking out the sudden idea that had come to his mind at Sophie's request. “We got a little spare house there. Kinda like a holiday house. I doubt Frank would mind. After all, he didn't mind me bringing Parker either.”

“Are you sure?” Nate wanted to know.

“Would I have suggested it otherwise?” Eliot asked back.

Sophie released a satisfied sigh. “Fantastic! You'll have to tell us about everything we've missed, and we've got quite a few stories to share ourselves.” She clapped her hands. “Maybe you could tell us how to get to the farm? I know you still have some things to take care of, and Nate and I still have to find the gas station. We could come around dinner time? Then you also have enough time to warn your friend that you invited two guests.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Eliot agreed. As he started to write down a description of how to get to the farm though, he didn't miss the fact that Parker was miles away with her thoughts again.

\-------------------

The couples had parted in front of the hardware store a couple of minutes later. Like promised, Jack had taken care of the shopping list already and had prepared everything they needed. In silence, Eliot and Parker loaded the goods into their car. She was testing his patience with her behaviour: something was wrong, and she knew he was aware of that fact, yet she didn't dare to speak out what she had in mind.

“Alright,” he said then, stepping behind her, blocking her way as she turned to grab another well-filled bag and lift it into the truck. “Are you going to tell me what's wrong anytime soon?”

“Nothing's wrong.” Just briefly, Parker looked him into the eyes before she turned around again. Staring at the bags, she poked one of them. “I'm fine.”

“No, you're not,” Eliot stated. “You're like that since Nate and Sophie showed up. What's the matter? Aren't you happy to see them again? There was a time when you missed them, remember?”

“Of course it's good to see them,” she said quietly. “It's awesome.”

“But?”

“No but.” She shrugged.

Eliot sighed. “Please, can you not be that damn stubborn for once? You got a problem with them being here. Why? Because you weren't prepared for seeing them? I know it's an overwhelming feeling. I mean, we didn't see them for years, in fact we didn't even expect to ever see them again in the first place, and then we meet them at Jack's. Are you mad at them because we didn't see them for so long? Are you mad at Nate because that's what he expected to happen all the time?”

Parker shook her head.

“Then what's the problem?” He could feel himself getting frustrated. She had gotten better at voicing her thoughts and feelings, but her ability to do so depended on the situation in question. Now she had gotten to a point where she was incapable of speaking out what she really had in mind.

Before he got a chance to encourage her again though, she blurted out, “I'm a horrible person.”

Eliot raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Care to explain that?”

Spinning around, Parker stared up at him. “Because I didn't think 'oh, how awesome, Nate and Sophie are back, maybe now we can maybe become a team again'! I was supposed to think that, right? I was supposed to get all excited, especially when they agreed to stay. But it didn't excite me! It scared me!”

“What's so scary about that?” he wanted to know.

She sighed deeply. “It's scary because...they're just stepping into our world and they're surely going to mess everything up and get it all weird!” She groaned. “Don't look like that! I knew you wouldn't get it, that's why I didn't say anything!”

Eliot shook his head at her. “What's all the yelling about, Parker? Why not explain it to me instead, huh?”

She glared at him for a moment. Then, she returned to looking upset. Inwardly, he sighed. He hated to see her like that, and even worse was that she lost the ability to make sense in such moments. He wanted to help her, but how was he supposed to if he didn't know what exactly her problem was in the first place?

“I don't want to lose this,” she whispered then. At his questioning look, she added, “This. What we got here. Everything.”

She shook her head at herself in frustration, convinced she still didn't make sense. Eliot had understood her though. Mentally, he cursed himself for not getting her problem earlier, as it was so obvious to him now.

“You're afraid things are going to change because they're back?” he wanted to know.

Avoiding eye contact again, Parker nodded. “We started fresh,” she answered quietly. “Took me a while, but I got used to this. To being at a farm, to being...normal. Remember how I said I realised I was happy even though I wasn't stealing anything or jumping off skyscrapers? I never thought I could live such a life, and even enjoy it! I never thought I could spend a day without doing what I did in the past. But I can. You and I...we even got married! We of all people!” Once more, she shook her head. “I'm feeling good this way, at the farm with you. Just you and me, out here. I...don't want this to change. I'm tired of everything changing all the time, whenever you finally got used to something and started to enjoy it! I want things to stay the way they are!”

She looked almost desperate at this point, and this time, Eliot understood her even better. Parker needed her time to adjust to changes. It had been that way when she had started to work with the team. It had also been the main reason why she had asked to join him five years ago: because by then, she had gotten used to being part of something and didn't want to let go of this feeling.

Now, five years later, she had gotten used to an entirely new life: a life she had never seen herself living. She had adjusted to living at a farm, to the work, to living with not only him but also Frank and his daughter, to being married. The past had moved into the background more and more while this new world had become the center of her attention. Years with the team had changed them. Years at the farm had as well, and the idea of losing this because the past was returning frightened her.

“Just because Nate and Sophie are here doesn't mean anything's going to change,” he told her then. “It was a coincidence we met them. They want to stay here because they missed us and because they want to do some catching up. That's all. They're our friends, Parker. Just because they're here doesn't mean we're about to give up on what we have out here.”

Parker didn't reply right away. Instead, she studied him, more curious than upset now. “You sure?” she asked then.

“Yeah,” Eliot answered. “We decide what we want to do, right? It was our choice to stay here, to become what we're now. It's also our choice whether or not we want to keep it that way.”

Parker nodded slowly. “I didn't mean to say I'm not happy to see them,” she said then. “Or that I hate the idea of being a team again. You know I loved what we did. I really did. But...”

“I got it, Parker,” he interrupted her. “Besides, who says Nate and Sophie want us to get back to what we did? All of us loved doing the jobs, but all of us also tasted what it's like to do something else.” Leaning in, he placed a gentle kiss onto her forehead. “Stop thinking so much. Everything's okay. No one's going to change anything unless it's what we want to do. You got that?” As she nodded, he added, “Good. Then let's get into the car. They said they're coming around for dinner, so guess that means I'll have to cook.”

Parker chuckled. “As if there's anything new to that.” Her expression softened then. “Thanks. It was nice of you to calm me down again.”

“You're my wife, it's my job to do that, right?” 

Eliot winked at her, grinning as she playfully glared at him. A few minutes later, he and Parker were on their way back to the farm, and much to his relief, she had returned to her old babbling self by then.


	3. Chapter 3

Five years ago

Convincing Eliot that she should join him had been easier than Parker had expected. Being determined obviously had worked this time. He would go and visit an old friend and wanted to stay at said friend’s farm for a while. She could deal with that. At least she would try.

A farm. Parker could only imagine what living at such a place would be like. According to Eliot, there was nothing else out there but fields, occasionally a few trees, and animals. Like horses and cows.

Parker couldn’t deny the idea of that was making her nervous. Although she wasn’t as scared of horses as she had been years ago, she still didn’t feel comfortable with getting anywhere near them.

She would have to get used to that though. After all, being around horses would be better than being alone. She was used to having her team mates around. That wouldn’t change any time soon.

And it didn’t have to, if she behaved properly like Eliot wanted her to, if she tried to get over her fear of horses and handle living at a farm. She could do that. She had to do worse before.

Parker had to admit that Eliot’s constant reminders of how she was supposed to behave on the farm were slowly starting to get on her nerves. She couldn’t really blame him for behaving like that though. After all, it had been her who had stabbed a mark before, and had done other stuff that had made the others roll their eyes.

This man was Eliot’s friend. Of course he didn’t want her to anger this friend. More than once, he had repeated his rules. Not being allowed to teach the eleven year old daughter Nataly how to pick locks was just one of many. They had already been on their way to the farm when Eliot had admitted that Frank didn’t just know everything about him, but by now also about her. At least she wouldn’t have to play a role around this man, wouldn't have to come up with lies to cover her past. She just had to follow his rules and behave. Then everything would be fine.

Still, she had started to get nervous as they had left the city behind, as houses had been replaced by fields. She had been shifting in her seat, nervously playing with the sleeve of her shirt as the farm had appeared in the distance.

Meeting Frank and his daughter Nataly though wasn’t awkward, dangerous or in any other way uncomfortable. Much to Parker’s surprise, the man had welcomed her as if he knew her already. Nataly, the eleven year old girl, had even seemed to be excited about the guests, at least she had appeared to Parker like that.

She was allowed to stay, as long as she didn’t cause trouble or mess up. Nataly had shown her around the farm, which was bigger than Parker had expected, and much nicer as well, but hadn’t made fun of her when she had refused to enter the barn. It was a place she could get used to, at least for a while, for a little vacation, until they’d decide where to go to next.

The sun was already setting as Parker left the farm house. There wasn’t much to do inside at the moment. The men were taking care of dinner while Nataly was busy with homework. Parker had tried to help her at first, had gotten bored after a while though and decided to explore the farm on her own for a bit.

Slowly, she made her way over to the single large tree that was growing in front of the farm house. The tree had to be old, so she assumed. It was tall and mighty. Trees like that fascinated her. Their branches were strong enough to carry a person, their leaves would hide the climber from people’s view. A smirk lit her face as she took it in. She’d definitely climb this tree, and hide up there, between the branches and leaves.

For now, something else had caught her attention though. Turning her head, she threw a quick glance into the direction of the barn. She knew the horses were in there right now. But maybe that was the reason why she felt the urge to go over. She was afraid, but curious at the same time.

No one had really understood why she had been scared of horses back then. Everyone had tried to explain to her that they wouldn’t kill anyone, wouldn’t cause any harm either. But they were tall, and even though Parker knew by now that no real horse had tried to kill a clown, she still believed they were too big and strange to be trusted.

Still she found herself slowly making her way over to the barn a few moments later. With slightly shaky legs, she walked through the entrance gate, and stopped in her tracks as the animals got into her sight.

“You don’t like horses?”

Startled by the voice behind her, Parker spun around. Her attention had been focused on the horses so much that she hadn’t heard how Nataly had appeared behind her.

“Um...” she started, hesitating. The girl was studying her curiously. She didn’t know whether she should be honest or not. How would Nataly react? Usually, Parker liked children. They were less complicated than adults, didn’t constantly give her odd looks when she was a little too honest or didn’t understand something that seemed to be perfectly clear to everyone else. Of course, children could be very mean as well: she had met many of those when she had been one herself. But Nataly didn’t appear to her like that.

“They’re not exactly my favourite animals,” she admitted then.

“Why not?” Nataly wanted to know, giving her a questioning look.

Parker shrugged, feeling how her cheeks heated up lightly. “It’s just that...they’re a little...scary.”

“Scary?” Nataly raised her eyebrows in surprise.

“Yeah.” Parker nodded. “Because they’re so big and strange and...dangerous.”

“Oh, but ours horses aren’t dangerous, really.” Nataly smiled. “They’re all very well-behaved.”

“And if they bite you? Or try to eat you?” Parker wanted to know.

Nataly chuckled. “They don’t eat meat, you know? They’re really nice. As long as you’re not mean to them or scare them, they won’t hurt you.” Her smile widened. “Hey, why don’t you go inside and have a look at them? They’re in their stalls, so they can’t come out and you can just approach them as much as you like.” She grabbed Parker’s hand. “Come on, it’s really okay.”

“I’ve already been around a horse before,” Parker said, unwillingly following the girl. “It wasn’t a murderous one. I just...still don’t really trust in them.”

“Come on, at least give it a try,” Nataly encouraged her. “Look.” With those words, she stepped closer to one of the stalls. The horse approached her. Willingly, it allowed the girl to pat its head.

“See?” she said. “It’s not bad at all.”

Still hesitant, Parker stepped next to the girl. In silence, she studied the animal in front of her. She couldn't deny its big, brown eyes looked rather pretty. Like dark diamonds, sparkling softly in the dimmed light of the barn. Its fur also looked pretty soft.

“Come on,” Nataly encouraged her once again.

With a shaking hand, Parker reached for the horse. Carefully, she brushed her fingertips along the bridge of its nose. When it didn't move, she used her entire hand, slowly running it up and down the soft, warm fur. The horse continued watching her, not moving a single inch as she was gently stroking it. A smile lit Parker's face, excitement started to fill her.

“You're right!” she admitted surprised.

“Are you turning into a horse lover now?”

Eliot's amused voice behind her made Parker looked up. Her smile widened. “Look, it's not trying to eat me!” she told him.

He chuckled, shaking his head at her. “Wow, lucky you. I thought for sure it'd have bitten your hand off by now.”

He grinned at the glare she gave him in response, making his way over to her and Nataly. Parker turned her attention back to the horse, but could feel Eliot was still watching her. She was glad she didn't have to make eye contact with him right now, because the expression she had just seen in his eyes had surprised, but also confused her. It had been different to the way he'd looked at her during the last couple of hours since she had shown up at his hotel room. In fact, it had been different to most of the looks he was usually offering.

Was it possible Eliot was proud of her? Parker had believed so for a moment. Just because she was finally patting a horse though? That seemed odd to her. To him, Nataly or pretty much everyone else, that wasn't a big step after all. Why would he be happy because of something like that?

“Dinner's ready,” he said then. “You think you can leave your new friend alone for a bit to get some food into you?”

“Who says he's my new friend?” she asked back, once again feeling how she blushed softly. This was another reaction she didn't understand. Why was she blushing? People did so when they were embarrassed, or caught by doing something they shouldn't. Nothing of that applied to her. Or did it?

“He could be,” Nataly said. “He could be yours if you like.”

Parker studied the calm animal. Her own horse? That sounded odd to her. After all, she had just made the step of touching it. But owning it? Apart from that, who knew how long they would stay at the farm?

“His name is Teddy by the way,” Nataly added.

“Teddy,” Parker repeated. “I like it. Suits him well. He's soft like a teddy bear.” She paused. “Doesn't mean I want to own him though, or that he's my new friend.”

“Of course it doesn't,” Eliot stated, and as she looked up, he winked at her.

“It doesn't!” Parker said more firmly. There it was again: this weird look in his eyes. Like he was happy. Because of her liking a horse? It made her wonder who of them really was the crazy one.

“I got you, don't worry.” He offered another grin in response. “Now let's go back inside. I didn't invest two hours into cooking this meal just to let it all get cool again.”

Parker only nodded in response. Once more, she ran her hand through Teddy's fur. Then she followed Eliot and Nataly out of the barn.

\-------------------

What Parker didn't understand was how a person could be tired and at the same time wasn't able to fall asleep. Her first day at the farm hadn't exactly been exhausting physically. After all, she had only been shown around and had taken a little trip to the barn.

Yet she had felt so tired that she had wondered how she had been supposed to get into her bedroom without falling asleep either on the stairs or in the hallway. Now that she was lying in her new bed though, she was wide awake again, staring towards the ceiling, slowly getting frustrated because her body was screaming for sleep but her mind was resisting to shut up.

Groaning in frustration, she slammed her hands onto the mattress. In fact, she knew she shouldn't be surprised. Falling asleep at different places than her warehouse had always been difficult for her. A new bed just didn't feel like hers. Apart from that, there were no locks that prevented others from coming in.

Giving up, Parker tossed her blanket aside. She wouldn't be able to find any sleep in this room or this bed. There was only one other option she could try. Parker had no idea whether or not this one could work, but it was worth a try. She was too exhausted to stay up all night long.

Quietly, she left her room and headed down the hallway. For a brief moment, she hesitated, wondering if she should knock. Determined to go in anyway though, she simply reached for the handle then and opened the door.

“Eliot?” she whispered. “It's me, don't attack me, please.”

“Parker?” his confused, sleepy voice asked. In the half-darkness of the bedroom, she could see how he sat up. “What's wrong?”

“Nothing's wrong.” Parker shrugged, stopping in the middle of the room. “I just...I'm tired, but I can't sleep. I don't know this house yet, and the bed. And...” Her voice trailed off for a moment.

“And what?”

“I don't really feel safe in here,” she admitted, glad that he couldn't see her face. “Because everyone can get those locks open, and I think Frank didn't even lock the front door in the first place. Plus he left his bedroom window open. And Nataly's.”

“That's because nothing's going to happen out here,” Eliot sighed. “There's nothing else but fields out here. The next town is an hours away. No one's coming over to a farm and break in. It's not worth the effort, because what are you going to steal? Cows?”

“And what about murderers?” Parker asked back.

He sighed again. “No one'll drive all the way out here to kill someone. Frank's living here for years already, together with Nataly. No one ever broke into his house. It's different to living in a city like we used to. It's not like that in the country, you know.”

“It's easy for you to say,” Parker shot back. “You could even sleep outside without being scared. Your attacker would be on their back and gasping for air before they even knew what was going on!”

Once again, she paused, staring at the floor in front of her. She knew she had just admitted that she was scared because she tended to lock herself up in her safe warehouse, knowing that no one would be able to get in and hurt her. Out here, she didn't have the safety she was used to. She knew Eliot also had made sure to have a safe home in the past, but she also knew he didn't need it. He could defend himself in every possible situation. Unlike her, who knew how to break into safes and how to hide, but not how to deal with someone who broke into her room and attacked her in her sleep.

“You'll see it's not dangerous out here with the time,” he said then, his voice sounding warmer now. “Until then...” She could see how he shook his head before he added, “Do you want to sleep here tonight? I'll make sure no one can get close enough to you to harm you.”

Parker's eyes widened in surprise. She had planned to ask him if there was a chance she could stay in his room for the night, but she hadn't expected he would offer this to her. At all.

“Really?” she asked.

“Would I've suggested it otherwise?” She saw how he lifted the blanket and patted the empty half of his bed. “Just make sure you stay on your half of the bed. No poking, no other annoying stuff. Got that?”

Smiling, Parker nodded. Quickly, before he could change his mind again, she slid under the covers and made herself comfortable. The idea instantly had the wished effect: she felt a lot calmer already.

“Eliot?” she asked then.

“What?” he sighed.

“How long are we going to stay out here? At the farm?” she wanted to know.

He was quiet for a couple of moments. Then she could see how he shrugged. “I don't know,” he said. “I want to stay here for a while I guess. Like I said, just relax a bit, calm down. There's no better place for that than out here.” He paused. “Is that a problem for you?”

Parker shook her head. “No. It's better than being alone again,” she said honestly. “And I like it. Well, apart from the sleeping in this house. But it's okay when I can sleep here with you.”

“Parker, I didn't say...” He sighed once again. “Whatever. It's good you like it, because if you still plan to go with me, you'll have to deal with this place for a while. At least for a few weeks or so. Maybe months. I don't know.”

She nodded. That sounded okay to her. Indeed, it was nice out here: even after her first day at the farm, she could say so. A nice, long vacation would be fine. Of course she knew there was a lot she had to adjust to, like the house, the fact that there was indeed nothing else but fields surrounding them, and to all the animals. But she could do that. She would try. She had mastered more difficult challenges before.

“Eliot?” she asked once again.

“Yeah?” This time, he didn't bother to hide his frustration. She resisted the urge to chuckle.

“I think I really like Teddy,” she admitted. “But I won't say he's my new friend. I don't know him well enough yet.”

Silence answered her, and for a moment, she wondered if he had fallen asleep already.

“Just go to sleep finally,” he said then.

This time, Parker couldn't suppress a chuckle, and she was convinced that she could feel Eliot glaring at her. Closing her eyes, she snuggled further into her pillow, wondering what she would learn the following day, and if Teddy would still be a friendly horse by then.


	4. Chapter 4

Present day

The delicious smell of dinner was filling the entire farm house by now. Nate and Sophie would arrive soon, so Eliot had decide to invest an extra amount of work into the meal he was cooking. After all, five years had passed since they had seen their friends for the last time.

Parker had visibly calmed down since the couples had parted hours ago in front of Jack’s shop. Obviously, she had listened to him and understood that there was no need to worry because of Nate’s and Sophie’s arrival in town.

In fact, he could understand her though. It had taken her a while to get used to their new lives on the farm, to her new surroundings. She had needed her time to leave the time they had spent as a team behind.

Now this was her new world, the farm was her home. And all of the sudden, the past reappeared without any further warning, right in the middle of Jack’s hardware store.

Nate and Sophie had appeared as a threat to this new world they had created for themselves in Parker’s eyes, and she had reacted that way to them.

He could understand where this fear was coming from. Parker didn’t want to give up on what they had now. She was tired of getting used to situations, just to helplessly watch how things were turned upside down again. For five years now, she was experiencing a stability in her life which was entirely new to her. And which felt good. She didn’t want to give up on that again.

In his eyes, there was no need to worry though. Eliot hadn’t been lying, hadn’t just tried to calm her down with telling her that it was up to them what they wanted to do next. No one else but them would make this decision. Things had been different when they had still been a team: of course, they could have left, but couldn’t have decided whether the team would reunite again or not. Now, they had set up a new life for the both of them, and it was up to them whether or not they wanted to stay at the farm together.

“When’s dinner ready?”

Parker’s curious voice interrupted him in his thoughts. Eliot had noticed how she had sneaked into the kitchen, but hadn’t bothered to look up. Most of the time, that would just encourage her to start messing with his food.

“Soon,” he said. Slowly, she made her way over to him. She stood so close that he could almost physically feel her presence. Like expected, a hand shot forward then, grabbing a piece of the vegetables he had just been cutting. “Parker, don’t start stealing my food again!”

“I’m not!” she defended herself. “Just this piece.”

Eliot could feel how she watched every of his movements, standing still and quiet by his side. He knew Parker behaving like that never really meant anything good. Most of the time, when she was quiet, she would be plotting something. Usually, it would be him who would experience whatever strange idea had come to her mind then. Even after almost five years of being together, after one year of being married, provoking him still counted to one of her favourite hobbies. Other times, she was quiet when something was bothering her. For a long time, she had tried to hide those moments of being upset in front of the team with overplaying it. The more she had started to trust in them, in him in particular, she had allowed herself to show this face.

Before he got a chance to wonder what exactly was causing her quiet behaviour though, one of her arms sneaked around his while the other one wrapped around his waist, her head came to rest on his shoulder. Moving around with her being attached to him like that was hard to almost impossible. Apart from that, feeling her so close was distracting.

“Parker, I can’t cook like that,” he told her, shuddering slightly as she buried her face in the crook of his neck. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong,” she stated.

“Then what’s all the snuggling about?” he wanted to know. Asking such a question was in fact unnecessary when it came to Parker. She didn’t need a reason to do something. Sometimes, she would just throw herself at him out of the blue, either because she wanted to be held by him or had even more in mind. Physical closeness had been a problem for Parker in the past, although he hadn’t missed that being close to him had never been a problem for her. Although her urge to make sure there was always a safe distance between herself and people had gotten much better, others were still not allowed to approach her more than necessary. He was the big exception of this rule: by now, especially since they had gotten together, she was actively looking for closeness as times. Her jumping at him even in unexpected moments wasn’t new or strange, but he could sense when she was approaching him because she felt like it or because she wanted something.

“You’re my husband, I can snuggle with you as much as I want,” she answered.

Eliot didn’t reply to that. He knew Parker had approached him like that for a reason. He could feel it. Pushing her wasn’t just exhausting but also unnecessary though. If she had made this step already, she’d open up sooner or later. Letting the pans and pots be for a moment, he freed his arm of her grip and wrapped it around her instead. Her arms tightened around him as she stood completely still, not moving a single inch as she did so.

“Nate and Sophie will be here soon, right?” she asked then.

He nodded. “I guess so.” Running a hand through her hair, he added, “You aren’t still worried because they’re going to see us, right?”

She shook her head. “No.”

“But?” Raising his eyebrows, he looked down at her. Lifting her chin with his index finger, he made her look at him. “What’s the matter now?”

Parker shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s just that...even if they can’t force us to become a team again...isn’t that what we have to do?”

“What?” Eliot stared back at her in disbelief. Over the years, already before the team had separated, he had started to get used to Parker’s occasionally strange trains of thoughts. Still, that didn’t mean she didn’t managed to take him by surprise at times. “What are you talking about?”

“Well, it was our job to help those that couldn’t help themselves, right?” she asked. “It was a good thing. You said we can decide what we want to do, but can we really? I mean, what if Nate and Sophie really decide that we should all reunite and start taking jobs again? Can we just say ‘no’ and refuse to help people who can’t help themselves?”

For a moment, Eliot could only stare back at her in silence. That Parker had grown and changed during the years was a fact, but sometimes, he forgot how much. She still had her crazy moments, still didn’t understand some things that were so obvious to others, still blurted out what she was thinking, not seeing why there was anything wrong with that. But she had learnt a lot. Somewhere along the line, she had decided that she wanted to do the right thing, like she had told him a couple of years ago while being stuck in an icy cave with him. Somewhere along the line, she had started to think about what ‘the right thing’ was, which showed how much being part of a team and using her skills for the good had taught her.

“Am I silly again?” she wanted to know then, and he realised she was still waiting for a reaction from him.

“No,” Eliot answered. For another moment, he studied her before he asked, “What do you want us to do, Parker? What’s it you’re wishing for?”

Parker shrugged again. “I want to do the right thing,” she repeated her own words, like he had expected.

He nodded. “But you do know that no one can force you to help others forever, right?” he wanted to know. “Everyone has the right to retire. Like people working at hospitals for example. We’ve been doing this for years, and it’d been damn hard at times. There’s nothing wrong with getting to the point where you want to stop. It doesn’t make you a bad person.”

“You mean it’s this whole ‘us being us’ thing again?” she wanted to know.

“I just mean that you shouldn’t feel like you’re a bad person or not doing the right thing because you want to continue doing what we’re doing now,” he explained. “Besides, we are doing something good. We’re helping Frank and Nataly. There’s not just one right thing to do, you know?”

Parker nodded slowly. “So it’s okay if I want us to stay here?”

“I don’t see why it shouldn’t.” Bending down, he gave her a quick, reassuring kiss. “All questions answered, or is there anything else on your mind?”

“Is dinner ready soon?” Parker asked, smirking slightly.

Eliot playfully rolled his eyes at her. “It’d be if you weren’t constantly trying to distract me.”

She slapped his arm, glaring at him. “Hey, I just wanted to offer to help you!” She wanted to add more but was interrupted by a firm knocking on the front door. Her eyes widened as she listened to Frank greeting their guests.

“You could say hello to our friends,” Eliot suggested. “Instead of messing around in my kitchen.” He grinned at the look she gave him in response. Indeed, she left the kitchen though.

Shaking his head at her, Eliot turned his attention back to the stove. Dealing with Parker could be quite interesting at times. He knew he had calmed her down again, but not entirely convinced her. No one could really do that. People could offer her a little push into the right direction and explain things to her. Eventually, she had to figure out what to do on her own though. Being around Nate and Sophie would hopefully teach her that she didn’t have a reason to worry.

“That smells good. I think I missed your cooking skills the most.”

“Is that so?” Smiling at Nate’s words, Eliot turned around.

“Well, neither I nor Sophie have the skills,” Nate answered. “And no one I know does it with such a passion.” He stepped closer. “Is Parker feeling better again?”

Eliot wasn’t surprised that their former mastermind had realised that Parker had been upset. “She’s okay,” he answered. “It’s not like she wasn’t happy to see you, you know.”

Nate smiled. “I didn’t think that either, Eliot. But we both know how Parker is. No matter how much the past few years might have changed her, some things will always stay the same, especially if they’re so much part of someone’s character. Being confronted with the past like that had to be overwhelming for her.”

Eliot nodded in agreement. “Yeah, she was kinda afraid you might come back and make us leave this here behind to restart the team. Took her a while, but she really got used to living out here, with me and the others.”

“She really got used to that?” Nate wanted to know. “This here couldn’t be much more different to what she’s been used to.”

“Yeah, but she also got used to working with a team, and liking and trusting in people, although she’s been alone since her childhood,” Eliot pointed out. “Of course she didn’t just stop being...well, Parker. She snagged our wallets and kept on hiding other stuff in the house, but she always returned what she took and that got less and less with the time. Until she got to the point where she told me she’s happy although she’s not stealing or jumping off high buildings.”

“Seems like it was the right choice to go with you then,” Nate said, smiling. “Also explains why she’s scared we could mess with what you have now, and make her turn back into the person she’s once been.”

“Is that what you’ve got in mind though?” Eliot couldn’t help but ask. Right now, whether or not they wanted to stay at Frank’s farm wasn’t even up for discussion. But actually making this point clear in front of Nate and Sophie was a different story.

Nate gazed back at him in silence. Eliot could almost see the thoughts that were running through the other man’s mind, yet he didn’t know what kind of an answer he was supposed to expect.

“I think all of us got to see that there’s also another world out there,” Nate said then. “We’ve spent years with those jobs, and we had a great time. We helped a lot of people with that. But I guess somewhere along the line, especially when you’ve tasted what it’s like to do something else, you reach the point where you might want to move on.”

Eliot nodded in agreement, unable to deny a rush of relief at his friend’s words. They all seemed to agree on one thing: they had been forced to start fresh, and all of them had gotten to the point where they didn’t want to go back.

“She’ll be glad to realise that,” he replied. “You know her. She’s stubborn. Could spend hours with telling her that we won’t leave the farm if we don’t want to and she’d still think about it.”

“Like I said, some things won’t ever change,” Nate said. “Even when you’re married.”

Eliot chuckled at the look his friend gave him. “You didn’t see that one coming, huh? She and I, getting married.”

Nate shrugged. “Well, there was also a time when I believed I’m an honest man and could never turn into a thief. I also didn’t expect myself to ever get married again. Look at me and Sophie though. Everything’s possible.” He paused. “What’s it like for the two of you though?”

“Honestly?” Eliot couldn’t help but smile himself. “Things seem to be easier since the wedding. Especially for her. Because no matter how much we argue because of something and no matter how mad we get, there’s still that promise we made. That we’re always going to be there for each other, no matter what, you know? Kinda makes you believe that even if you mess up or piss the other one off, they won’t just run away. Not that they couldn’t if they really wanted to, but I guess you know what I mean.” He shook his head. “You know, it’s not even that crazy if you think about it. That she agreed to marry me. Because if there’s something she wants, it’s feeling safe.”

For a brief moment, his thoughts drifted off. Yes, they had made the step even a lot of normal couples were scared off. Both had had their problems with trusting people in the past, with letting them in. It had taken him a while to understand that although they were different in so many ways, they had a lot in common as well, which allowed them to understand each other in a way no one else could. This trust, this connection between them, which had gotten even stronger by the time they had fallen in love with each other, had eventually led to their decision that they wanted to get married.

“Dinner's almost ready,” he said then, forcing his mind back to the present. Nate just nodded in response, offering another smile before he left. Shaking his head, Eliot turned back to the pans and pots in front of him, not without a smile of his own though.

\------------------

What had been supposed to be just dinner had turned into an hours-lasting get-together. By the time Nataly had fallen asleep at the table, they had decided to eventually part and continue exchanging stories and catching up the following day. Nate and Sophie would stay at the holiday house for a while, to enjoy the quiet and relax a little, along with their friends.

Frank had taken the couple over to their temporary home while Eliot and Parker had taken care of the mess that had been the dining room and kitchen. They hadn't been completely done yet when Parker had sneaked out of the house and disappeared. Housework didn't count to her favourite activities at all.

In silence, he finished cleaning up. Quiet moments like this were rare if one shared a house with three other people. Frank was as calm as him. Probably it came with the kind of business they had been part of what felt like ages ago. Frank had retired from being a retrieval expert when he had met his wife Sarah and had decided to settle down for her. Nataly had been born not too long after that. The marriage had survived another year before Sarah had left the man alone with his daughter. 

Frank hadn't started another relationship after this disaster, claiming that he was busy enough with the farm and Nataly. But Eliot knew that the quiet he was enjoying right now could get painful after a while, could make a person realise how lonely they really were. Probably that was one reason why his friend had agreed so quickly to him and Parker staying at the farm with him.

“Some nice friends you got there,” Frank said as he returned. “Seem to like the holiday house.” He opened the refrigerator to get himself a beer. Eliot watched him in silence.

“Is it okay to you?” he asked then. “Them staying here? Should've asked you first before I invited them, but you're usually quite open when it comes to guests.”

Frank chuckled. “Yeah, I am, so I guess that's the answer for your question. Can't deny I've been worried for a moment when you said your old friends are back. But I know this place is home for the two of you, so doubt they'll lure you away from the farm.”

“Of course not.” Eliot suppressed a chuckle of his own. During the last five years, the four of them had turned into some kind of family as well. Changing this dynamic seemed to be no option for either of them.

“Your wife's sitting in her favourite tree again by the way,” Frank said then. “Is she okay?”

Eliot nodded. “I guess so, yeah. She's a little overwhelmed by the past coming back like that. Things not going the way they always do confuse her, you know that.” 

He finished cleaning the kitchen. Then he headed outside himself. Like Frank had informed him, Parker was sitting on her favourite branch of her favourite tree, staring ahead. Eliot had stopped counting how many times she had climbed said tree, had tried to hide between the branches and leaves, either to annoy him or because she had wanted to be alone.

“Are you going to stay up there all night or go back inside with me?” he asked her.

Adjusting her position, she turned around so she could face him. “Come and join me.”

He shook his head. “You know I'm not going to do that. Come down here already”

Parker snorted. “Will you ever stop disliking climbing trees? It's not like climbing skyscrapers after all!” She sighed deeply. “I know you prefer to have solid ground beneath your feet, but come on!”

Sighing as well, Eliot prepared himself for one of those long discussions they would always get into when he wanted to convince her. But, much to his surprise, she moved again and a second later, she stood in front of him. She grinned brightly at him before she wrapped her arms around his waist and snuggled into him. Once again, her actions said more than words. Yes, she was feeling better indeed.

“See?” he said, placing a kiss into her hair. “Told you they'd not come over to talk us into restarting the team. They're just here as friends. To spend some time with us. That's all.”

“I know,” Parker sighed. “Are you going to say 'told you so' now?”

Eliot chuckled. “Nah, I don't have to rub it into your face, right?” His smile softened as she looked up at him. “You really love being here, don't you?”

“Not just being here,” she answered quietly. The intensity of the look she was giving him then made his heart race. Eliot could understand why Nate and Sophie had been surprised to find out that he and Parker had gotten married. To him, it made sense the more he thought about it. He couldn't tell when exactly trusting and caring for each other had turned into this strong, deep love. It had happened though, and no endless speeches, no romantic dates or other things couples liked to do were required to remind them of this fact. Sometimes, a glance or a tiny gesture were enough. Both of them were complicated, in their very own ways. She was still capable of driving him crazy, almost on a daily basis, and he was sure that sometimes, he was getting on her nerves, too. But actually being with each other, being married, was one of the least complicated experiences he had ever made.

“I'd like to go upstairs now,” Parker said then, with a smirk he knew only too well.

“Oh yeah?” Eliot mirrored her smirk. “I see. You have to be tired, it's been a long day.”

He suppressed a chuckle at the glare she gave him in response. “You know I'm not talking about sleeping,” she answered.

“No?” His smirk widened. “Then why don't you show me what you're talking about?”

Parker didn't need a second invitation. Her lips crashed onto his in a heated, passionate kiss. Willingly, she allowed Eliot to lift her up into his arms and carry her inside. He knew what had bothered her earlier wasn't a topic anymore. She had understood that he had been right all the time. And right now, that didn't matter either, because her full attention was focused on him.


	5. Chapter 5

Five years ago

During her first week at the farm, Parker had quickly developed her very own morning routine. Like usually, she would wake up early. Quietly, she would sneak out of the house and climb her favourite tree. From her favourite branch, she would watch the sun rise in the distance.

It was a stunning view she had to admit. Sunrises in the city had been amazing, too: she had loved to see how the sun's reflection had made the millions of windows sparkle like diamonds. She could've watched that for hours.

Sunrises in the country were different. Out here, she could see more of it. At first she would see a slim, orange line appearing at the horizon, lighting up the dark blue sky. Said line would expand more and more with the time.

And then, the sun would suddenly show up, like a giant fireball. It had the power to cover the entire landscape in shades of yellow, orange and red. For a moment, it seemed like the fields were made of gold.

Parker loved this part of her morning routine the most. A smile was usually plastered across her face when she focused her full attention on the beautiful view in front of her.

After a while, she would leave her tree again, would sneak back into the house through Eliot's bedroom window. Whether or not he was okay with her sleeping in his bed every night had never come to her mind. He had accepted her once, why shouldn't he do so again? After all, she was actually able to sleep when being in the same room with him, and she was listening to his rules as well: no poking and no annoying.

That he hadn't forbidden her to get back in through his bedroom window had surprised her at first, but Parker hadn't spent more thoughts than necessary on this topic. She knew by the time she would slip back under the covers that she had already woken him up. Obviously, he didn't care though: he would just keep on pretending like he hadn't noticed her little trip to the tree and back until she would have fallen asleep again.

Parker couldn't deny the urge to sneak over to him and poke him was very tempting at times. Same counted for the idea of just snuggling into him. He looked appealing to her, lying like that right next to her. But she had promised to behave, and she knew if she didn't want to be send to her own bedroom, she would have to be a good girl.

The sun was shining bright through the bedroom window as Parker woke up again. She wasn't surprised to find the other half of the bed empty already. Unlike her, Eliot had started to help Frank out at the farm right from the beginning. His friend had offered them to relax for a bit, to just do nothing for once. Eliot didn't seem to like this idea though.

And slowly, Parker could understand him. In the beginning, she had liked the idea of doing nothing. After getting up properly, she would enjoy a huge bowl of cereal: an obsession she seemed to share with Nataly, the owner of the giant boxes of cereal she had discovered in the kitchen's cupboard. After breakfast, she would head to the barn briefly. The horses still didn't exactly count to her favourite animals, but they didn't seem scary to her anymore either.

Teddy was different though. Since she had been introduced to the horse on their first day, she paid him a visit every morning, to bring him a carrot and pat him a little. Then, she would usually walk around the farm, hide a few items in the house, just to get them back to their original place before the others would return. Usually, one item would stay hidden until the next day, just to see if anyone would notice.

But as funny as this had been in the beginning, a week later, she was starting to get bored. Parker wasn't used to doing nothing. She didn't just want to repeat the same actions every day.

Yawning lightly, she got up. Slowly, she got dressed and headed downstairs. The bowl of cereal was as delicious as ever, but Parker couldn't deny that even eating couldn't really entertain her. She needed to find something else to do instead.

Just then, she heard how the front door was opened. A smile lit her face as Eliot entered the kitchen.

“Hey, you're back!” she said excitedly.

“Yeah, just have to get something for Frank,” he answered. “He needs some more wires for a fence.”

“Oh, I can do that!” Parker said before she knew what she was doing.

“I thought you didn't want to do anything special,” Eliot replied surprised. “Just relax and do nothing.”

Parker sighed. “Yes, but that's getting boring. I mean...I did everything you can do. I'm not good at relaxing and doing nothing. I've always been busy with something. Come on, it's not like it's something difficult to do! Just give me those wires and tell me where he's at, and I'll get them to him.”

Eliot didn't seem to like her idea. “Nah, I think I should rather do that,” he said. “The field he's at is pretty far away. He took the truck, so I'll have to go by horse...”

“No, you won't,” Parker interrupted him. The more she thought about it, the more she liked the idea. Finally, she would have something to do. It was a start after all, and maybe she would be able to do other work as well with the time. She knew Eliot wanted to stay at the farm for a while, so she had only two options: either she had to deal with serious boredom or she would start to work as well.

“Parker, come on.” He rolled his eyes at her. “How do you plan on doing that? Ride a horse? I know you're okay with being around Teddy, but you're still avoiding the others. I certainly won't allow you to ride one! There are no better options. We only got the car and the tractor here.”

“So what?” She shrugged. “I'm going to take the car then.”

Eliot sighed again. “That's not going to work! The car will get stuck out there in the fields. You want that to happen? Getting stuck in the middle of nowhere?”

“I won't get stuck,” Parker stated firmly. “I'll do it, no matter what you're saying! You were busy yourself, weren't you? Until Frank called you and said he'd need more wire. Go back to what you were doing and I'm going to help him. I can do that! I'm not stupid after all!”

“I didn't say you're stupid,” he said, and she could feel he was trying not to show how much she was frustrating him again. “But you can't go by car, and you won't go by horse either. I...”

“Stop it already!” she interrupted him again. “I'll do it, period! Tell me where he is and give me the wire.”

She ignored the glare Eliot gave her in response. After all, staying at the farm had been his idea, so he would have to deal with her wish to help as well. He stared back at her in silence for a couple of moments until he groaned and dragged her over to the map that displayed Frank's land. He explained where his friend was currently working at a damaged fence and how to get there. Parker listened closely. She followed him into the barn and took the wire from him. She ignored the look he gave her as she loaded it into the car and drove off.

Chuckling, Parker shook her head as she made her way across the seemingly endless fields. Eliot was a stubborn man. It was something they had in common. She would prove to him that she was capable of this work though. Of course Parker had spent most of her life with learning to steal and break into things, or how to jump off buildings and down elevator shafts. She was good at this, but that didn't mean she couldn't learn how to do something else. Nate wanted the team to start fresh, most likely because he didn't believe that they would ever reunite again. She had had the choice to return to being the woman she had once been. She could have returned to being just a thief again. But this option hadn't sounded appealing to her anymore, and so she had decided to really start fresh. With Eliot. And if that meant working at a farm, she would do it.

Staring ahead, Parker tried to stay as focused on her surroundings as possible. She couldn't afford getting lost out here. In cities, navigating was a lot easier. Out here, she couldn't see anything else but fields, hills and occasionally trees. Her smile widened. Soon, she would arrive at her destiny, would hand the wire over to Frank and show to him and Eliot that she was capable of working out here.

Only her well-trained reflexes prevented Parker from crashing her face into the steering wheel as the car came to a sudden stop then. She needed a second to recover from the shock. What had happened? Had she gotten a branch between the wheels? Or had she driven into a hole she hadn't seen? More firmly, she pushed the gas pedal, but the car didn't move. The wheels squealed, spinning as she made another attempt.

“No!” she groaned disbelieving. “No! Please, that can't be true!” Shaking her head, she left the car to examine what she had gotten herself into. Another groan escaped her as she realised how muddy the field really was, and that she could push the gas pedal as much as she wanted to: she wouldn't get anywhere.

“Dammit!” she cursed. “Dammit! Why? Why the hell are you doing that to me? What did I do to you, huh? What?”

Parker glared at the car, clenching her hands into tight fists. She fought with herself for a moment until she could bring herself to reach for her cell. She needed help. There was no way she would either get to Frank or back to the farm.

“Are you kidding me?” she exclaimed as she stared at her phone then. “No connection?! Are you for real?” She resisted the urge to throw the innocent phone into the mud. Of course Eliot had told her that their phones didn't work everywhere on Frank's land. He had been lucky earlier, but there were places where she wouldn't be able to get any connection. Obviously, the car had chosen one of them when it had decided to get stuck.

“Great. Fantastic. Absolutely brilliant.” Her nails dug into her palms as she clenched her hands even more. So much, she had wanted to prove to Eliot that he was wrong. She could do his work. And now, what he had expected from her had happened. She was in trouble. She had failed.

Blinking rapidly, Parker tried to fight back her rising tears. She hated moments like this. In the past, when all she had to do had been breaking into safes or stealing precious things, she hadn't been confronted with such situations. She had been completely aware of what she had been doing. Failing had never been a topic for her. Even more it hurt now. She wanted this fresh start, really wanted to try and get used to the world Eliot seemed to like so much. She had talked him into taking her with him, had agreed to stay at the farm, and now she wasn't even able to deliver wire.

Crossing her arms in front of her chest, Parker let her eyes travel across her surroundings. The urge to freak out, to toss something around or punch something was almost overwhelming, but she knew she had to figure out what to do next at first. Eliot had warned her that Frank's land was huge. She didn't have any cell connection, so she couldn't call for help. How high were her chances that someone would come and find her out here? Certainly not high at all.

There was only one other option that came to her mind. A risky option, but Parker didn't care. The whole plan was a mess already anyway. Who cared if she made it even worse now? Determined, she grabbed the wire and put it over her shoulder. Shoving the cell back into her jeans pocket, she started to walk. If the car wouldn't get her to Frank, she would get there on her own. No matter how long it would take her. After all, she still knew which direction she had to take.

Walking wasn't easy either though; Parker realised that quickly. She felt like she was walking hours already, and yet behind every hill that promised to reveal her destiny, she would find just another field. She regretted that she hadn't taken one of the hats Nataly had offered to her. The sun was burning down onto her mercilessly. She was sweating, she was thirsty, and the wire felt like it was weighting tons by now. Her steps had slowed down, putting one foot in front of the other was getting harder and harder. How was she ever supposed to find Frank like this? Mentally, she cursed herself for her decision. Why hadn't she stayed in the car? At least in there, she could have tried to hide from the bright sunshine.

By the time she noticed the sound of hooves, drumming onto the dry ground, behind her, Parker was convinced she was starting to hallucinate. Allowing the wire to slip off her shoulder, she stopped and turned around. To her surprise, she realised she wasn't just imagining the steady sound she could hear. Indeed, a horse was approaching her. She didn't know whether or not to be relieved as she identified the man riding it though.

Eliot stopped the horse a couple of feet in front of her. As he jumped off of it and made his way over to her, she winced. He was angry: his entire body language was revealing that to her. Had he already figured out what she had done to the poor car?

“I always knew I was right,” he yelled at her then, proving her theory right. “There IS something wrong with you!” He stopped in front of her, fuming, but Parker realised there was more than just anger visible in his eyes. He almost looked scared.

“What the hell do you think you're doing?!” he wanted to know.

“I'm sorry,” Parker forced herself to say, not caring for the fact that her face was blushing bright red. She could just blame the sun for that. Admitting that she had failed was hard and painful, but denying it would only make it worse. “I didn't mean to ruin the car, and now I'm going to be late, too. I really thought I could do it.” She hesitated. “I'm sorry I failed.”

But the expression in his eyes didn't change. “You think that's why I'm mad?!” Eliot hissed back. “Dammit, I don't care that you didn't get that stupid wire to Frank in time! I told you the car would get stuck, didn't I?! You wouldn't listen, you'd have left even if I had forbidden you to do it! I knew you'd get stuck somewhere on your way, that's why I decided to go after you! But who did I see when I found the car? No one! NO ONE! Care to explain that to me?”

“Well, what do you think, huh?” Parker couldn't help herself. She had tried to apologize, despite how horrible admitting that she had been wrong felt like. Now, the instinct to defend herself was kicking in, and even though she knew yelling back wouldn't help, she couldn't stop either. Her emotions had already taken over: there was no way back anymore. “I left the car because I wanted to get the wire to Frank! I wanted to tell him about it so he could call you and we could get the car out together!”

“That's insane!”

“It's not!” she screamed. “Stop yelling at me! I just wanted to do it right, that's all! You think all I can do is stealing stuff and breaking into things, right?! It's all stupid Parker can do, because she never learnt to do anything else! But that's not true! I can learn fast, and I'm capable of more than you think! I wanted to prove that to you! That's why I left! Because I wanted to get the wire to Frank!”

Hot tears were streaming down her cheeks by now, but Parker didn't care for that either. She was mad: at the car, at the muddy fields, at the wire, Eliot, and especially at herself.

Unlike what she had expected, Eliot didn't yell back though. Instead, he was staring at her in silence, a mix of disbelief and shock in his eyes.

“You are crazy,” he said then, his voice a lot quieter now. “You want to know why I'm mad? When I found the car and you weren't there...do you have any idea how much that scared me? I didn't know if something had happened to you maybe. Then I realised that the wire was gone, and I knew what you were up to. Didn't make it any better though! Do you have any idea how dangerous it is what you're doing here? You've been walking in the sun for at least an hour, without any cover on your head, without anything to drink.”

“For an hour?” Parker asked surprised.

Eliot nodded. “Yeah. Guess you didn't realise you're lost, huh? You've been heading into the wrong direction for a while. Do you have any idea how lucky you are I actually found you? I was already expecting to either find you unconscious and dehydrated in the fields, or not at all until nightfall!”

Closing the distance between them, he gently grabbed her shoulders, making her look up at him. “Parker, I don't think you're stupid, okay? I do know how much you're capable of! You're more than just a good thief. You're a smart woman, and I know you can learn fast. But you don't know what it's like to live in the country. I do. When I'm telling you something's not going to work that way, I'm not doing that because I think you're not able to get the work done but because it simply won't work that way. If you want to help, that's great. We're going to teach you whatever you want to know. But don't be so impatient and get yourself in trouble.”

Parker nodded slowly in response. She could understand why Eliot was angry. Her wish to do the job right and prove what she could do had been so strong that the fact that she could get herself into serious trouble hadn't even occurred to her. Feeling dizzy and longing for water, she knew he was right though. She didn't want to imagine how far off the right trail she really was by now.

“I didn't mean to scare you,” she said eventually.

He nodded. Reaching into the bag, attached to his horse's saddle, he presented a small bottle of water to her. “Here, drink. You've lost too much water during your little hiking trip.” Gratefully, Parker took the bottle from him. She frowned though as Eliot removed his hat and put it onto her head.

“No, you need this yourself,” she said, but he shook his head.

“You need it more right now.” He picked the wire up. “I'll get you back to the farm...”

“No,” she interrupted him. “I'm okay, really. The water's already working. Frank's waiting for the wire, isn't he? We can get it to him first and then you can take me back to the farm. I promise I won't take the hat off either.”

“Fine.” He sighed. For another moment, he studied her before he added, “Don't ever do something like that again, okay?” And before she got a chance to reply, he pulled her into a tight embrace. It was different to the ones she'd seen him giving Hardison in the past. It was a good hug. A very good one, and Parker couldn't deny she was a little disappointed as he released her again.

“You know we'll have to go by horse, right?” Eliot asked then.

Parker shrugged. “Better than walking in the sun I guess.” She paused as she looked at the horse more closely. “Wait...you actually took Teddy?”

“I thought he's the only horse you'd agree to ride,” Eliot said.

Parker just smiled in response. She didn't feel embarrassed anymore, and she knew he was right. Eliot didn't think she was stupid. But she was stubborn and should have listened. She would try to be patient and allow him to teach her everything she needed to know.


	6. Chapter 6

Present day

The first sunrays that found their way through the half opened bedroom window woke Eliot up. Keeping the window open was an old habit he had gotten used to from the days when Parker had sneaked out of their room to watch the sunrise from her favourite location on a branch of the tall tree.

She had kept this tradition going for a month: every single morning, she had gotten up, had sneaked out and then had returned. Usually, he had already been awake by the time she had gotten up, and hadn't really been able to fall asleep again until she had come back.

At first, that had bothered him. Why would he have to know that she had returned to his side to go back to sleep? This was Parker though. Who knew what she would get herself into out there? Who knew where she would go to, what she would plan to do next?

It had taken him a while to trust her when it came to handling their new surroundings. Her getting lost in the fields while attempting to deliver wire for Frank had proven to him that he had to be cautions. She wasn't used to living in such a world after all.

During their first month, she had proven that she would indeed learn fast though. She had listened to what he, Frank and Nataly had explained to her and had tried her best to follow their rules, even though she had been struggling with that at times.

Somewhere along the line, Eliot had stopped constantly worrying that Parker could get herself in trouble again. She still liked to mess around, to do things she wasn't supposed to, but she was trying her best. Still, he couldn't fall asleep anymore as soon as she would sneak out, and it took him another while and a few conversations with Frank to realise what the reason for that was.

They had gotten together after their first month at the farm. Since that day, Parker was no longer spending her mornings outside, didn't feel the need to watch the sunrise anymore. Instead, she had developed a new morning routine, which involved him now.

Opening his eyes, Eliot glanced down at his wife. Like usually, her head was resting on his chest, one arm was wrapped around his waist. Although she was lying completely still, her body only heaving and falling with every soft breathe, he knew she was no longer asleep. 

He had learnt to read her body language a long time ago, but had become an expert at that during the last five years. Being around her all day long had taught him more about her than endlessly long stories could. He knew she went through different states of caution at times. There was always some kind of tension in her body: an instinct she had developed while learning how to survive on her own as a child. Always be prepared: this had been her motto for too long to just lean back and relax. She looked like a wildcat at times, especially when she felt like she was trapped and needed to get out.

Right now, in moments like this though, she was completely relaxed. Eliot could feel all tension had left Parker. It still amazed him that he had earned her trust so much that she was able to let go of her caution completely when he was around. She had learnt to give up responsibility and allowed him to make sure that she was safe. Frank had once said that this fact said more 'I love you' than anything else, and Eliot agreed with his friend.

Removing his hand from its location on Parker's waist, he let it travel upwards. Gently, he brushed his fingertips along the back of her neck. She shuddered lightly as he did so, but teasing her wasn't anything he had in mind. While she had learnt to adjust to living in the country for him, knowing how much he loved this place and wanted to stay, he had adjusted to her in return, which had turned out to be easier than expected. 

A long time ago, he had learnt that Parker was more than just a crazy thief. She had shown that she could be serious, that she could analyse and think if she tried and wanted to. Her concentrated face while trying to fix a damaged fence the way he had explained to her had caused the wish to understand her better, to handle her behaviour better. He had learnt a lot about her which he hadn't been aware of yet.

No, she had never just been the crazy thief. The more she had trusted in him, the more of her other layers she had displayed. Since they were together though, this connection between them had reached an entirely new level, which was responsible for all the new little routines they shared: routines no one else but them was aware of.

Waking up together every single morning was just one of many. And once again, with Parker it was entirely different to how it would have been with every other woman Eliot had met in the past. She wouldn't wake up and greet him with a smile and a kiss. She wouldn't plan what they could do during the day. She wouldn't want romantic breakfast in bed. She would just continue lying in his arms, completely still, enjoying the way he was holding her, touching her, unwilling to accept any interruption that could disturb this little world which only the two of them were part of. A world in which she didn't have to explain herself anymore or behave in a certain way because it was normal. Sophie was no longer teaching her how to smile, how to talk, how to make eye contact with people. She could just relax, knowing she was safe and that she wouldn't be judged for being who she was, even though he would still tell her that she was crazy at times. She knew how he meant it and that even if they fought and yelled at each other because of whatever had angered them, he wouldn't send her away or run. Because he loved their own little world as much as she did.

Thinking of this fact, Eliot couldn't help but smirk in amusement. There had been a time when the idea of getting married had scared him. Same counted for the idea of starting a serious relationship. He hadn't changed his mind when it came to what he had imagined back then. He wouldn't be able to be with a woman like Sophie; a woman who demanded the kind of attention most women wanted.

There was a reason why he believed being married to Parker, the most complicated and complex person he had ever met, was one of the easiest experiences he had ever made. Neither of them made a big deal of their marriage. Maybe that was the reason why it was actually working for both of them: because they didn't have to force themselves into roles that didn't suit them. They had created their own definition of marriage, and could live with that pretty well.

“Do you think Nate and Sophie are happy?”

So lost in his thoughts, Eliot was startled by Parker's unexpected question. Blinking a few times, he tried to clear his mind, just to realise that she had adjusted her position and was gazing up at him now.

“Why shouldn't they be happy?” he asked back.

Parker shrugged. “Because they're arguing so much.”

“Yeah, but that's normal,” Eliot answered. “All couples fight. Look at the two of us. We argue quite often as well.”

“Yeah, but it's different.” She paused, frowning as she concentrated. “Well, I mean...it's the reasons they're arguing about. You and I...when we're yelling at each other, it's because one of us did something stupid. Or both of us. We yell until the problem is solved and we're good again. But they...they're doing it differently. They argue about the same stuff over and over again. Doesn't seem like they can actually solve their problems.”

Eliot resisted the urge to shake his head at her words. He couldn't deny it was scary at times how observant Parker really was, and always had been. After all, it had been her who had pointed out to Hardison that Nate had stayed in the bank he and Sophie had been trapped in later because said woman had still been in there.

“That's because every couple's different,” he tried to explain. “Doesn't mean one's happier than the other.”

“But still it's stupid,” she said stubbornly. “I mean...why would they argue about something silly like forgetting when they met for the first time? Or that Nate didn't bring her flowers? And why doesn't Nate just change that if it upsets Sophie?”

“Because...” His voice trailed off for a moment. It wasn't like he was an expert when it came to relationships either. After all, the one with Parker was the only one that had ever worked out for him, and this was due to the fact that things between them couldn't be compared to what Nate and Sophie had with each other.

“Well, like I said, all couples are different,” Eliot repeated his earlier words then. “They value different things. For Sophie, romantic stuff is important. And dates. For a lot of couples, dates mean a lot. Like the day when they met, the day when they went out for the first time, or the day when they got married. Most people get mad when one partner forgets the wedding day.”

“Why?” Parker wanted to know.

Eliot shrugged. “I guess they feel like the partner doesn't care anymore. They might think that if they don't even remember the date of their wedding day, the whole marriage doesn't mean anything.”

“Huh. I don't get that.” Parker shook her head. “They're still married after all. I mean, what if the partner remembers the date and gives you something nice once a year to celebrate it, but sucks all year long?” She rolled her eyes. “I wouldn't get mad if you forgot our wedding day.”

“Because you'd forget it yourself, huh?” he asked back, grinning as she laughed.

“No, I won't,” she answered. “I do actually remember when it is, and it's soon. But please don't get me flowers or chocolate or spread leaves of roses everywhere...poor roses.” She paused. “No, wait...chocolate would be okay. You may get me chocolate.”

Laughing at Parker's words, Eliot shook his head at her. Then his face turned serious again. “You shouldn't be worried because of Nate and Sophie though,” he told her. “Every marriage is different. Doesn't mean they're not happy. Sophie just demands more attention from Nate, and Nate's sometimes overwhelmed with that. You don't understand it because you're simply not that way. I mean, look at us. I'm not taking you to fancy restaurants.”

“Because there are none out here.” Parker giggled, grinning as he rolled his eyes at her.

“Anyway,” he said. “I'm also not getting you flowers when I come home. We're not doing couple stuff. We don't even run around, holding hands. We have our own way of being married. We don't have to constantly remind each other of the fact that we're in love and together.”

“Yeah, I mean, isn't saying 'I love you' enough?” She shook her head. “And I don't need all the other stuff either. When you hug me and kiss me, I like that much better than constantly holding hands or getting flowers from you.”

“That's because you are who you are. Not everyone's like you though,” Eliot stated. She really wasn't. Parker didn't make a big deal of their relationship. For her, being together was normal by now. Same counted for being married. He was always by her side: she had accepted that and couldn't imagine it any other way. Constantly talking about this fact though didn't make sense to her.

“Do you like me the way I am?” she wanted to know then. “Or would you rather like to have a normal woman like Sophie?”

“First of all, who decides what's normal?” he asked back. “And about that question...I married you, didn't I? Isn't that answer enough already?”

Parker smiled in response. “So you think Nate and Sophie are happy?” she repeated her earlier question.

Eliot nodded. “I'm sure they are. They wouldn't still be together if they weren't.”

“Makes sense.” She stared back at him in silence for a couple of moments. Then a smirk lit her face as she asked, “You know what I'd like to do now?”

“I have a suspicion,” he said, mirroring her smirk. He hadn't missed the desire that had suddenly appeared in her eyes. Shaking his head at her, he added, “I won't ever understand how you can hop from one topic right to another one.”

She didn't bother to answer as her lips already found his in a heated kiss.

\------------------

It was getting close to midday when Nate and Sophie left the holiday house for the first time. Remembering his earlier conversation with Parker, Eliot couldn't help but watch the couple from the distance. More than once, he had seen them argue as well, and he could understand why his wife would wonder if their friends were okay. That Nate and Sophie would always reunite again was a given though. They loved each other: there was no doubt about that.

Eliot joined Sophie outside as the woman remained standing at the fence that separated the closest fields from the farm while Nate headed back to the holiday house. Seeing Parker at such a place had already been interesting. But Sophie was used to cities even more, and to beautiful resorts and hotels instead of ordinary farm houses.

“You regret staying here already?” he asked as he stepped next to her. Sophie looked up in surprise.

“How could I?” she asked back. “It's so beautiful out here. The landscape is stunning. And the quiet...You constantly hear something, but it still seems to be so quiet.”

“Yeah, you can't really compare birds and horses to cars and all those other disturbing city noises,” Eliot agreed. Sophie indeed looked happy. Maybe a break from what she was used to was what she needed for a change.

“Where's Parker?” she wanted to know then.

“She's out. Getting some work done,” he answered. “I should be doing the same. Just came back to prepare something to eat for the two of you, because we won't have a proper meal until dinner. There's usually too much work to do during the day: you don't really find time to sit down for a proper lunch.”

Sophie shook her head at him. “You didn't have to come back just because of us.” She chuckled. “Believe it or not, but Nate and I wouldn't have just starved.” She sighed. “I know I might be getting on your nerves already with this, but...I still can't get over the fact that you and Parker settled down here together. No matter how many stories the two of you are telling me.”

“Yeah, well, I don't think it's that unrealistic, you know?” he replied.

“I didn't say that either,” she answered. “It's just interesting to see.” She paused. “See, I always knew there was a connection between the two of you. You're not that different from each other. When we separated...I was secretly hoping you'd somehow take care of her. It's amazing to see that it's what you actually did.”

Eliot couldn't help but smile at her words. “I think we're taking care of each other.”

Sophie nodded in agreement. “It seems like that.” For another few moments, she stared ahead, taking in the landscape in front of her, before she added, “Is she still stealing?”

He shook his head. “Not anymore. Not right now at least. She still has her moments when she likes to snag stuff from us, but it's more of a game than anything else. In the beginning, she had quite a hard time with actually paying for what we had to buy in town. You know her, she hates to give away cash. So I did most of the shopping back then. She also lifted a few wallets here and there, but I made her give them back. With the time, that got better though. She just continued stealing our stuff, but you know she always gives it back when it comes to us. And see...she didn't really have the chances to keep on stealing. We've spent most of the time at the farm. There was so much she had to learn, and that required her full attention. She didn't just have the options anymore, she also didn't have the time.”

“So she got used to it eventually?” Sophie asked.

Eliot nodded. “Yeah. Took her quite a while of course, but one day, she said to me she's happy although she's not stealing or jumping off any skyscrapers. I guess that was a pretty important moment for her.” He smiled. It was so clear to him now why Parker had been scared as she had to face Nate and Sophie again. She had gotten to the point where she had managed to leave the past behind, had even stopped doing what she had loved to do the most.

“Is that Parker?” Sophie's surprised voice asked then.

As he turned into the direction she was looking at, his smile grew into a grin. “Oh, yeah.”

“On a horse?” Sophie's eyes widened.

“Yeah, she's actually pretty good at horseback riding.” Eliot resisted the urge to laugh at Sophie's facial expression. Together they watched Parker as she made her away across the fields until she stopped in front of them. Like usually, a bright smile was plastered across her face as she got off Teddy's back and made her way over to the fence.

“Hey Sophie!” she greeted her friend. “What happened? What's that funny look about?”

“Parker, what happened to you being afraid of horses?” Sophie asked back. “I understand that you have to get used to the farm animals. But...riding a horse? Really?”

Parker laughed. “Well, I didn't really have a choice, you know? This is a farm after all. There are so many fields, and some are so muddy that if you don't go by truck or tractor, you get stuck. So going by horse is the best option. I had to learn it, because...well.”

She threw a quick glance into Eliot's direction, blushing softly. He hadn't forgotten the moment in question either. Parker had refused to listen to him, had driven off with Frank's car and indeed had gotten stuck, in the middle of nowhere. Instead of waiting for help though, she had decided to leave and walk, in the sun, without any water.

Remembering how he had found the car without her, how realisation had hit him that she had been out there on her own still made him shudder. In fear, he had looked for her, and fortunately had found her before she could have gotten herself into serious trouble. He wouldn't forget how scared he had been, how much he had prayed that he would find her in time before she would collapse because of either dehydration or a sunstroke. It had also been one of those moments that had made him realise how much he really cared for her.

“You know, if you know how to ride a horse, it means there's a lot of nice things you can do,” Parker said then. “Eliot and I have a tradition. Once a month we take the horses and go for a ride. Just the two of us. We'll stay out all night long, sleep in the fields and then return in the morning. That's actually been our first date. It's a nice tradition.”

“It sounds nice indeed,” Sophie agreed, with a grin in Eliot's direction this time. He refused to roll his eyes at her though. Sophie was just Sophie. He could imagine how romantic the idea sounded to her. Their little trips weren't supposed to be romantic though. They gave them the chance to be entirely on their own for several hours. Even though they never had a problem with finding time to enjoy some private, intimate moments at the farm either, it didn't change the fact that they still had to share the place with two other people.

“Do we have sandwiches?” Parker asked then. “I'm hungry.”

“Yeah, there are some in the kitchen.” Eliot raised his eyebrows at his wife as she ducked under the fence. “Hey, who's going to take care of the horse?”

“Oh, come on, you know you love doing that for me.” She smiled at him brightly before she headed off into the direction of the farm house.

“Yeah, thanks for teaching her how to do that, Sophie. Blackmailing the husband.” He playfully glared at her, earning a chuckle in response.

By the time Eliot had led the horse halfway over to the barn though, Parker had already reappeared, with enough sandwiches for the both of them. She could still be exhausting at times. But learning how to handle her, how to understand her had definitely been worth the effort.


	7. Chapter 7

Five years ago

Parker knew she was stubborn and, having been on her own for most of her life, usually would try her own plans first before she would listen to anyone else. It had been the major reason why she had needed a while to get used to working with a team. Because working with a team meant following rules.

Somewhere along the line, she had learnt to do that though. She had figured out that maybe, sometimes, another person might actually be right with setting up a plan that was different to hers. She had learnt to accept that after a while. She had learnt her lesson.

And she had to learn it again at the farm. Mentally replaying the situation she had gotten herself into, Parker had to admit that she should have listened to Eliot right from the beginning. Indeed, she had managed to get herself in trouble again.

Parker could understand why he had been so mad at her. On the way back to the farm, he had explained to her what could have happened if he hadn't found her that quickly, making her understand that maybe next time, she should listen to him.

Admitting that she had been wrong wasn't easy for Parker: there was no way to deny that. She wanted to prove that she was capable of living at a farm though. She wanted this fresh start, more and more with every day.

And so, Parker had agreed to sit down with Eliot, Frank and Nataly, allowing those three to explain to her how living at a farm really worked. She had agreed to go and ask first before she would do something, would follow the rules they would set for her. By the time the conversation had been over, Parker had noticed the expression she had already seen on their first day in Eliot's eyes. He wasn't mad anymore. Instead, he seemed to be proud of her. She had also spotted something else, which she couldn't interpret though. But obviously, she had done something right, and this was all that mattered to her.

In her wish to make this fresh start work, Parker had even agreed to learn how to ride a horse. This part of the plan was the biggest challenge for her. She had spent a lot of time around Teddy already, had even been riding him together with Eliot. But still seeing him outside his stall and having to sit on his back all by herself had been a scary experience at first.

She was determined though. The more she watched Eliot, the more she started to believe that despite what he was saying, he wasn't planning on leaving the farm any time soon. Parker had gotten to the point where she could understand him. He had told her once that for him, there was no better place for letting go of the past, for relaxing. Out here, they were alone with themselves, busy with hard, honest work. Even she had realised that during the last few weeks, she hadn't missed the team, hadn't felt upset anymore. 

Instead, she would go so far and say she felt good. Parker was surprised how much little things were already enough to make her happy. She could still remember how she had fixed a fence on her own for the first time. Eliot had supervised her work of course, but eventually, she had done it herself. The proud grin had stayed plastered across her face for the rest of the day. It had been the first time that something that didn't involve stealing had made her proud. Indeed she was capable of so much more than being just a thief, and this realisation made her feel good in a way she hadn't experienced before.

No, she didn't want to leave the farm either, and if staying meant that she had to learn how to ride a horse, she would do so. Especially if succeeding would make her feel so proud and happy again.

So busy with adjusting to living at a farm, Parker had barely realised how the first three weeks had passed. It was yet another sunny morning that promised a hot day as she entered the kitchen to have her daily bowl of cereal. A broad smile lit her face as she found one prepared on the kitchen counter already.

“You made me breakfast?” she asked Eliot, who looked up only briefly to acknowledge her presence. “How did you know what I wanted?”

He raised his eyebrows at her. “Well, I don't know. It's not like you're eating cereal every day, right?” 

He smirked at the glare Parker gave him in response. Hungrily, she shoved a spoon full of cereal and milk into her mouth. She chewed happily for a while until something else caught her attention.

“Where are Frank and Nataly?” she wanted to know. “It's weekend and we usually don't start working that early then.”

“They're loading the truck for the farmer's market,” Eliot answered, once again giving her a surprised look. As she mirrored his expression, he sighed. “The farmer's market, Parker. In town. Remember? Frank's mentioned it before. Yesterday for example.”

“What's there to prepare?” Parker asked back. “It's just a market. You go there to buy stuff, right? Or sell it.”

He sighed again, more impatiently this time. “Did you ever listen when we were talking about it? It's not just an ordinary market. It's like the biggest event going on in the surrounding area. All the farmers will be there. They're hosting a couple of events. Like a little rodeo show, horse racing. There's tons of food being served, too. It's not really about selling stuff. That's what the auctions are for.”

Parker's eyes widened. “Oh, that sounds almost like a carnival!” She almost felt guilty because she hadn't listened more closely when Frank had talked about the market.

“Yeah, and as we're going to stay at the motel, they're packing some stuff for us,” he said.

“Wow.” Parker gave him an uncomfortable look. “Am I allowed to go as well, although I didn't really listen and didn't pack anything yet?”

Eliot rolled his eyes at her. “How old are you, Parker?” He shook his head at her, but she didn't miss the amused smile that lit his face for just a matter of seconds. “You don't seriously think we'd leave you here at the farm, right? All alone. Certainly not. I packed your stuff already, because even though I thought you were actually aware of the event, I expected you'd forget to take care of your stuff.” He paused before he added, “And before you ask me...yeah, we're going to share a room, and yeah, same rules apply over there. No poking, no teasing, no other annoying stuff.”

Once again, he shook his head at her before he turned his attention back to what he had previously been doing. With a broad grin, Parker watched him. She knew in the past, Eliot would have reacted a lot more impatiently if she had shown such a behaviour. It was a fact that made her feel comfortable, in a very interesting way.

\-----------------

When Parker had assumed that the farmer's market could be compared to something like a carnival, she realised she had been right as soon as they arrived. So far, she had been in town only once, to do some shopping for Frank together with Eliot. 

The little trip had been a challenge for the both of them, for different reasons. Parker had disliked the idea of handing out the cash Frank had given to them: she simply wasn't used to giving away money like that. Apart from that, she had lifted a few wallets, unable to resist the urge as she had bumped into a few people. Eliot had forced her to give them back, and had then kept a close eye on her, making sure she didn't get either of them in trouble.

“Listen,” Eliot told her as they unpacked their belongings in the small motel room that would be their home for the weekend. “I didn't tell Frank what you've done last time we were in town. I don't want you to cause any trouble, okay? If you don't want to buy stuff yourself, ask me and don't just take it. Don't steal any wallets either. Those are all friends of Frank. Most likely, we're going to be the only strangers in town this weekend, so everyone'll immediately know who's responsible for disappearing wallets. Steal my stuff, or Frank's or Nataly's if you have to, but stay away from everyone else. You got that?”

“I'm not a baby,” she answered, glaring at him. Parker knew he was right though: she had to control herself. This wasn't a big, anonymous city. It was a tiny town in Texas, where everyone knew everyone. She didn't want to cause trouble, and especially she didn't want to embarrass Frank in front of his friends.

Only after she had promised to behave though, Eliot agreed to leave the motel with her and have a first look at the farmer's market. He hadn't been lying with telling her that a lot of food was offered to the guests. The huge amount of it made her stomach growl. The embarrassing sound was so loud that eventually, Eliot dragged her over to a near group of plastic chairs around a plastic table and made her sit down.

“Who's going to eat all that stuff?” she asked impressed. “I mean...I'm eating a lot myself, but not that much. Farmers must be really hungry people.”

“That's because they're working so much,” Eliot told her with a wink.

Parker opened her mouth to reply, but was interrupted by the waitress that arrived then.

“Hey,” she greeted. “What can I do for the two of you?”

“Anything you'd recommend?” Eliot asked back.

Parker didn't hear the woman's answer. She didn't really hear anything as she watched the woman, turning her full attention to Eliot now as she spoke. The sight of the woman's smile caused a heat deep within Parker that made her clench her fists under the table and grit her teeth. Eliot listened closely to the waitress and responded something as she had finished her speech. Much to Parker's growing disgust, the woman's smile seemed to widen even more as she nodded. Her disgust was replaced by a strong rush of anger though as the waitress turned to leave, not without brushing her hand along Eliot's arm as she did so. Taking a deep breath, Parker forced herself to stay in her chair and not jump up to go after the woman.

“You don't mind I ordered for you, don't you?” he asked then. “Parker? Everything's okay with you?”

Her glare focused on him now. “Why'd you have to take me to a place like this, with such a stupid waitress?” she hissed.

“Excuse me?” He raised his eyebrows in disbelief. “What happened now?”

“What happened now?” Parker asked back. “She's been flirting with you. Right in front of me! How rude is that?”

“What?” Eliot looked at her as if she had gone completely crazy now. “First of all, she wasn't flirting, she was just friendly. That's the job of a waitress, you know? To be nice to the guests.”

“Oh, I'm not stupid, okay?” she shot back. “She was flirting. She did it that way women always do around you! She even touched your arm.”

“She did not.”

“Yes, she did!”

“So what?” Eliot shook his head at her, seeming to get frustrated himself now. “Who cares? Even if she tried to flirt with me, which I didn't even notice obviously, what's wrong with that?”

“What's wrong with that? You don't do that! I was sitting right next to you! That's just rude! But of course you don't see anything's wrong with some flirting, right? Because you surely liked it.”

“I didn't even notice!” he hissed back. “What's your problem, Parker? Are you jealous?”

“What?!” She stared at him with huge eyes. “Jealous? Me?! Why the hell would I be jealous?”

“Well, I don't know, why don't you tell me?” he shot back.

Parker's nails painfully dug into her palms as she tried to release some of the anger she was feeling. He didn't understand why she was mad, and the worst was the fact that she didn't even understand it herself. The woman's behaviour had angered her, had disgusted her. When the waitress had touched his arm, she had felt the strong urge to get up and slap the offending hand away. Why exactly she suddenly got that angry by a woman flirting with him confused her as much as it obviously confused him. She had seen it happen before, but back then, she couldn't have cared less, even when he had gotten up to leave with said woman. The idea of him doing the same with the waitress made her blood boil.

“I'm not hungry anymore,” she forced herself to say. Before she could get up though, he had grabbed her hand.

“No, you're not going to run away now,” Eliot told her firmly. “You'll stop being crazy, stay here and eat your food. And I swear, if you do anything stupid when she returns, I'm going to lock you in the motel room.”

“As if I couldn't get out of there.”

More, Parker didn't say. She forced herself to stare at the table when the waitress returned with two well-filled plates. In silence, she ate, unable to enjoy the food. She was mad at the waitress for flirting, at Eliot for not understanding why she was upset, and even more at herself for feeling that way in the first place.

\-----------------

Parker assumed the farmer's market had to be great fun for people in town and for the farmers, who bothered to come over and stay at the motel for a weekend just to be able to attend it. Indeed, there was a lot going on. The rodeo was interesting, so was the horse race. Leaning against the railing that was separating the racing course from the visitors, she was waiting for the race to start.

The market had been supposed to be a funny and enjoyable event for all of them. After her argument with Eliot though, Parker couldn't make her previous excitement return. She had left as soon as she had finished eating and had stayed in safe distance to him ever since.

That didn't mean she had stopped watching him. He didn't look too happy either, but kept on distracting himself with talking to other farmers. At least he refused to talk to other women, even though there were enough that tried to catch his attention.

Shaking her head, Parker groaned. She hadn't caused trouble with stealing, but had started an argument with the person most important to her. Because she had gotten angry thanks to a flirting waitress. Although he hadn't even flirted back.

“Are you going to watch the race as well?” Frank's voice interrupted her in her thoughts. Just briefly, she looked up as the man stepped next to her. Staring ahead, she could feel his attention stayed focused on her though.

“Why aren't you or Nataly joining in?” Parker wanted to know before he got a chance to ask more.

“Because Nataly's way too young,” Frank explained. “And I'm too tall and heavy. But you'd be perfect for the race. Maybe one day, when you're feeling safe enough on Teddy's back, you could give it a try.”

For a second, a tiny smile lit Parker's face. She and participating in a horse race. What a crazy idea. The smile disappeared instantly though, and once again, she felt that she was watched.

“You'd like to talk about what upset you?” he eventually asked the question Parker had been waiting for. As she shook her head, he added, “Listen, I know you and Eliot had an argument. How do I know that? Because he looks as upset as you do right now. He didn't tell me what happened, so maybe you will?” He paused again. “See, I'm your friend as well, Parker. Only because I know Eliot longer doesn't mean you can't talk to me, too. I know you had a friend back when you were still part of the team. But she's not here now, so maybe you could give me a chance. I'm a good listener. And I promise I won't tell him what you told me. I won't be biased either.”

Parker didn't dare to look up. Instead, she stared ahead in silence, considering her options for a moment. She liked Frank, but three weeks of being around each other by far wasn't enough for her to trust in him. The way she was feeling right now wasn't easy to handle either though. In the past, she would have called Sophie in a moment like this, or Eliot. But the former was hiding who knew where with Nate, and the latter was the reason why she was upset in the first place. Frank was her only option, if she didn't want to stay mad for the rest of the day.

“I got mad because a waitress flirted with him,” she blurted out eventually. “I don't even know why I got mad. I mean, women are doing that all the time with him. But this time...I just wanted to punch her really hard. But he didn't get what my problem was and then we argued.” She sighed deeply. “I didn't want to fight with him. Especially not because of a stupid waitress.”

“I see,” Frank said. Stepping next to her, he leant against the railing as well. “I'm not sure you ever considered that option, but...is it possible you might've been jealous?”

Parker groaned. “That's what Eliot said as well! Why does everyone think I was jealous?”

“Well, what does 'being jealous' mean in your opinion?” Frank wanted to know.

Parker shrugged. “That you get mad because someone has something you want to have.”

“Yeah,” Frank agreed. “But it can also mean that you get mad because someone wants something you want as well. And it gets even worse when you believe the other person might have better chances to get it.”

“Really?” Parker looked up. “But that'd only make sense if I actually wanted him.”

Frank smiled. “And maybe that's the case.”

“He's my friend!” Parker's eyes widened.

“Well.” Frank sighed lightly. “Be honest, Parker. Do you still feel the same way about him you did before you guys came to my farm? Or did it change? Sometimes, it's already enough when things changed just a little bit. For example, what's it like for you when the two of you are around each other? What's it like when he talks to you, or when he touches you, when he's close to you? Are you trying to be around him more than usually on purpose?”

“That's a lot of questions.”

Frank nodded. “Yeah, but try to answer them. Did it change? What's it like for you at the moment?”

“I don't know.” Parker shrugged again. “It does feel a little different. I mean, we're around each other all the time now. It wasn't like that before. We worked together, but that was it.”

“And do you like it better now?” As she nodded, Frank added, “What do you like the best?”

“I don't know,” she repeated. “Everything. I mean, I feel good when he's around. Safe as well. I like the way he's proud when I'm doing something good. I also like the way he's teaching me stuff. And when he does little things for me like preparing breakfast.” She hesitated. “Actually, he's always been the only person I've allowed to get close to me, because I know I can trust in him. But lately...I want us to be close even more.”

She wanted to add more, but the words got stuck in her throat as realisation hit her. Yes, things had changed between them. She was trying to be around him more, asked him to explain something to her again even if she had understood it already. Whenever he touched her, on purpose or accidentally, it would make her shudder, and her heart would beat faster if he stood closer than necessary. She had indeed been jealous. Because she had feared that this woman could claim what she wanted for herself. Him.

“No!” she exclaimed then, her eyes widening in shock. “No, that's wrong! I can't...”

“Calm down, Parker, it's okay,” Frank interrupted her, grabbing her arm before she could turn around and run. “There's nothing wrong with feeling that way.”

“Of course it is!” she exclaimed. “He's my friend, Frank! I'm his friend. It's...like with me and Hardison. Hardison had feelings for me, but I didn't have feelings for him, and that was very awkward. I don't want things between me and Eliot to get awkward as well!”

“And no one said it's going to be that way,” Frank told her. “You don't think him feeling that way about you, too, is an option at all?” As she shook her head, he added, “Parker, come on. How'd he react to the waitress when she tried to flirt with him? Did he flirt back?”

Again, she shook her head. “No. He said he didn't even notice.”

Frank nodded. “See? And you think that'd have ever been possible in the past? No, right? He'd have always noticed a woman, trying to catch his attention. And he'd have reacted to her. But he's not doing that anymore obviously. You know why? Because maybe, just maybe, there's already another woman he's interested in, another woman he cares for. Which means he's not interested in strangers anymore.”

“But if he's interested in another woman already...” Parker started, just to be interrupted by Frank's sigh.

“Parker, are you kidding me? I'm talking about you here. You're the only woman he's been around during the last couple of weeks, remember?” He sighed again. “Relax, okay? Everything's fine. It's alright to have these feelings. In fact, it's fantastic you're finally aware of them. I know they seem to be scary to you right now, but it'll get better. Especially when you see that I'm right.”

“About what?”

“About him having feelings for you as well,” Frank stated.

Parker studied him curiously. “He ever said he does?” she couldn't help but ask.

Frank chuckled. “You don't seriously think I'd tell you, even if he did, right? But trust me. I know him for so many years already. I'm not blind, Parker. I recognize two people falling for each other when I see it.”

“Well, but you've not been with anyone for ages either,” Parker said.

“Oh, thanks for reminding me, Parker, I almost forgot.” He shook his head at her, not without an amused grin though. “You're feeling better now?”

She shrugged again. “He's still mad at me, right?”

“Go and apologize,” Frank told her. “He'll forgive you. It's what you do when someone means something to you.”

Parker just nodded in response. “Thanks, Frank,” she said quietly before she stared ahead again. At least she understood herself a little better now, although she was even more confused than she had been before, and she hoped that Eliot would accept her apology.

\-----------------

By the time Parker returned to the motel room, she could still hear the noises of the town's biggest event. She was too exhausted to stay up any longer though. Apart from that, she finally wanted to have a decent talk with Eliot. He had joined her and Frank earlier, but they hadn't exchanged more than a few words for the rest of the day.

Parker couldn't deny her nervousness as she entered the room. She wasn't good at apologizing, at least not when it came to moments in which she really felt sorry. Quietly, she made her way further into the room, stopping in the middle of it to wait until he would leave the bathroom again. Fortunately, she didn't have to wait long.

“Can I talk to you?” she asked hesitantly as he just stared back at her in silence.

He nodded. “Yeah, sure. Except you want to freak out again.”

She shook her head. “No. I just...wanted to say I'm sorry.”

Parker had expected the surprised look Eliot gave her in response. “And apology?” he asked. “Really?”

“Yes.” She sighed. “I know I...overreacted. I just didn't like this woman at all. Or the way she behaved. It angered me how she was trying to flirt.” She wanted to add more, wanted to tell him that yes, she had indeed been jealous. Because of obvious reasons. But she couldn't. Not yet.

“It's okay,” Eliot said then, much to her relief not asking any further questions. “Just do me a favour and don't freak out like that again, alright? That was pretty creepy. I thought you'd stab her every minute. Or do you only stab guys?”

She couldn't help but chuckle at his words. “No, I stab everyone who angers me. Except people I like.”

“Good to know.” He shook his head at her, finally with a smile of his own. The apology had worked, just like Frank had told her. But even though she couldn't speak out what else she had in mind, there was still something she wanted.

“Hug for being good again?” she asked.

This time, a chuckle escaped him. “You're really a crazy woman,” Eliot said. Stepping over to her, he pulled her into his arms. “Come here.”

Closing her eyes, Parker allowed herself to relax as Eliot hugged her. The way this gesture made her feel was yet another proof for the fact that Frank was right. She couldn't deny those feelings were confusing her. But she was determined to find a way to handle them.


	8. Chapter 8

Five years ago

Leaving the team behind had been a challenge for all of them, Eliot included. Although he had always been one of those people that needed their private time and own personal life outside the job. With the time, the team had become family though. He had learnt to trust in them, to be around them more often.

Separating had hurt: there was no way to deny that. Starting fresh wasn’t exactly the problem for Eliot though. He could adjust to situations rather well. Still, having to leave the past behind to hide and do something else was a situation he needed to get used to.

Frank’s farm had appeared to be perfect for him. Out there, with nothing else but fields surrounding him, he felt like he had been sent into a whole new, different world: perfect for a fresh start. Out there, he would be able to keep himself busy for a while

He hadn’t been prepared for Parker showing up though, demanding to be part of his plan. She wanted to go with him, because she didn’t want to be alone, because she couldn’t just get over what she had needed so long to get used to.

He had eventually agreed to take her with him: because he knew she had been serious with saying that she would follow him anyway, and because he could understand her wish not to be left behind like that.

One month had passed since their arrival, and saying that he was impressed by her would be an understatement. Eliot himself had adjusted to his new surroundings rather quickly. The hard physical work he had to do every day was a good distraction,: although he couldn’t deny that deep inside, he missed the team at times, he wasn’t too bothered by having something else but their jobs to do. Feeling like he had actually managed to do something productive during the day that didn’t include beating anyone up to get a job done was a good feeling.

He hadn’t expected that Parker would manage to get used to this place and all the changes that came with it though. He had been wrong. There had been moments when he had believed she would manage to drive him completely crazy sooner or later. But eventually, Parker had understood that if she wanted to stay around, there were rules she had to follow and things she had to learn.

Obviously, she had indeed been serious about wanting to start fresh together with him, because she invested a lot of energy in adjusting to her new surroundings and slowly turning into a real farmer’s girl. She was motivated to work and learn. Despite everything he would have ever dared to imagine, she had agreed to learn how to ride a horse. He also still hadn’t forgotten how excited she had been when she had managed to fix a fence on her own for the very first time.

Eliot couldn’t tell when exactly his view on her had started to change. Her wish to learn and adjust had fascinated him. But things hadn’t just stopped there. Slowly, he had realised that he was glad he had taken her with him, how much he truly cared for her. His feelings for her were changing, in a rather confusing and unexpected way.

“What are you doing?”

Interrupted in his thoughts by Frank’s voice, Eliot looked up, finding his friend studying him with a raised eyebrow.

“What’s up with your concentration?” Frank wanted to know. “I could’ve knocked you out if I had wanted to. I always thought you were the better fighter of the two of us.”

Eliot just sighed in response. Working out together at least once a week behind the barn had turned into a tradition for both men: to keep fit and to work on their skills. Frank had been a good fighter back in his days, and had quickly gotten back into it. The punching bag his friend had bought a two weeks ago was another good addition that allowed Eliot to get his occasional frustration out, especially since he was starting to get confused with himself.

“Sorry,” he said, picking up his bottle of water. “Was a little distracted I guess.”

Frank shrugged. “No need to say sorry. It’s not me who almost got knocked out.” He made his way over to the wall of the barn. Sitting down, with his back resting against the wooden surface, he took a sip of his own bottle. Eliot joined him in silence. 

“Is it because of Parker again?” Frank asked then.

“What?” Eliot stared back at his friend in surprise. “What do you mean?”

“Oh, you know very well what I mean,” he answered. “I’m not stupid, and I’m not blind either.” He smirked at the look Eliot gave him in response. “Come on, man, who are you trying to fool? Me, or yourself? And don’t you dare to say ‘she’s just a friend’. Things change, you know? Especially when you’re spending so much time with each other and start to see the other person from a different point of view.”

Once again, Eliot could only stare in silence. Had he been so obvious? Had his behaviour changed? And if so, was Parker aware of those changes as well? His first instinct was to argue with Frank, to tell him that he was wrong, but deep inside he knew that nothing he could say would convince his friend. Because Frank was right after all.

“Confusing, huh?” he eventually decided to say. “How things just change with the time. Would be a lot easier if they’d just stay the way they are.”

Frank rolled his eyes in response. “Oh yeah? I don’t think so.” He shrugged. “Well, of course if you think she’s not feeling the same way about you, you’d think it’s a bad thing.”

“And you have a different opinion about that?” Eliot asked back. “That’s Parker after all.”

“So what?” Frank shook his head at him. “She’s a human being with feelings, too, even if she’s not that good at showing or understanding them. You didn’t realise she’s trying to be around you even more lately?” He sighed deeply. “Don’t be an idiot, okay? Don’t try to fool yourself and pretend you’re not feeling that way for her. Or that you could just ignore those feelings and make them disappear like that.”

“And what am I supposed to do instead?” Eliot wanted to know. “Maybe confront her with them? What if you’re wrong, huh? You can imagine how things will turn out between us if she’s not feeling that way? She had that already with Hardison. Things are just going to get awkward. I don’t need that, and I doubt she’d either.”

“Can’t you just trust in me for once?” Frank replied. “I did figure out you’re having feelings for her. You seriously think I’d suggest you should go for it if I didn’t believe she’d have feelings for you, too?”

“How are you supposed to know?” Eliot asked back. “You know me longer than her.” He paused. “Or did she say something?”

“Just trust in me,” Frank said.

More, he didn’t get. Eliot watched his friend as he got up again. No, Frank wouldn’t suggest anything that could cause trouble or complicate things between him and Parker. Maybe, just maybe, he should consider stopping to fool himself and pretend that nothing had changed. Because he doubted that would work much longer anyway.

\-------------

After his first trip into town with Parker, Eliot had made a mental note that he wouldn't go with her again. Ever. The fact they had to go shopping for Frank in the first place had been frustrating enough: after all, who wanted to take a one hour drive to head to a town for shopping? Stuff was needed at the farm though, especially food.

Parker had been supposed to help him, but eventually had managed to make the trip even more exhausting. All the way to town, she had complained that they would have to give away the cash Frank had given to them for the goods they had to buy. Then, in town, she had lifted a couple of wallets, much to Eliot's anger. She had eventually agreed to give them back, but that didn't change she had almost brought them into a couple of very awkward situations.

She had promised to behave though, and indeed had kept said promise. During the farmer's market, she hadn't caused any major trouble, apart from her little freak out regarding the flirting waitress. 

Now, a week later and after the conversation he had shared with Frank, Eliot couldn't help but wonder if that had been a clue, a proof for his friend's theory that Parker was indeed having feelings for him.

Who knew? What was obvious though was the fact that Frank was very interested in pushing the two of them into a certain direction. He had seen his grin when they had left around an hour ago.

“Can I try it this time?” Parker asked as they parked the truck in front of Jack's hardware store.

“Try what?” Eliot wanted to know.

“To pay,” she stated. “You know, in the shop. For our stuff.”

There had been a time when such a request would have made Eliot raise his eyebrows in disbelief, or roll his eyes. By now, there was nothing strange about her behaviour anymore though. He knew her that way, and had learnt to handle her.

“I'm not sure that's a good idea,” he admitted.

“Why not?” Pouting slightly, Parker continued, “Come on! Remember what a good girl I was when we were here for the last time? During the farmer's market? I didn't cause trouble, I didn't take anything that wasn't paid for by you or Frank, and I also didn't steal.” She sighed at the look he gave her. “Okay, I almost didn't steal. It was just once. Just one wallet, and I gave it back immediately! I can do this. Let me pay this time.” She hesitated before she added, “It's just...money, right?”

“Just money?” He shook his head at her in disbelief. “Who are you trying to fool, Parker? We both know that for you, there's nothing more important than money.”

“That's not exactly true,” she said, her cheeks reddening for a brief moment before she straightened herself and looked as determined as possible. “I can do it. Give me the cash and I'll prove it!”

Eliot studied her in suspicion. He knew she was serious and wanted him to give her a chance. Parker would try her best: he didn't have a doubt she would. But what would happen if she didn't managed to do it? What if she messed up, right in the middle of one of the most important stores in town?

“Please?” she asked then. Mentally, he cursed her for the look she was giving him.

“Fine,” he growled, handing the cash over to her. Eliot could imagine the grin Frank would give him at this moment pretty well, which only added to his frustration. “Let's go in there and get that stuff done.”

Grinning all over her face, Parker nodded. Together, they entered the shop. Much to his relief, she didn't try to distract him and herself with browsing through the shelves but calmly helped him to find everything they needed. He couldn't deny his heart was beating a little faster in nervousness as they joined Jack at the counter. Eliot watched Parker closely as she listened to the man in front of her. He didn't miss that her hands were slightly shaking as she went through the cash then to hand the right amount over to Jack. She managed to do it though, and, still with shaking hands, accepted the change in return. She tried her best to look as calm and collected as possible on their way out of the shop. Barely they had reached the car though as the broad grin returned.

“You saw that?!” Parker asked, looking even prouder than she had after fixing her first fence. “I did it! I paid for the stuff, and I didn't even hesitate! Okay, I was a bit nervous and it was odd to give him the money. But I could do it, and I didn't want to grab the stuff and run away with it! See? I told you I could do it!”

“Yeah, you did.” A smile of his own lit Eliot's face. He was as proud of her as she was of herself. For a reason: what was normal to others had been a huge step for Parker. She wasn't used to paying for anything, and especially not to giving her beloved money away. Yet she had tried it and succeeded. He had seen how much making this step had cost her.

“You did very well,” he told her. Pausing for a moment, he added, “You're doing very well in general, you know. At the farm, with the work you're supposed to do. You're really good at horseback riding, too. And you're getting better and better at following rules. That's impressive.”

Eliot knew his face was giving away that praising her like that embarrassed him: he wasn't good at such speeches. The surprised and happy look she gave him in response only increased the feeling. “Thank you!” she said, her voice a lot softer than he had expected. Lately, it seemed to be so easy to make her happy, which caused a strange kind of happiness deep within him in return.

“We should go back now,” he told her then, afraid that standing there, in the middle of the street, staring at each other, could quickly get awkward. “The sun's going to set soon, and I want us to be back before nightfall.”

Nodding, Parker followed him willingly. He could feel she was watching him until he joined her in the truck. By the time he turned to face her though, she was staring out of the front window again. She wasn't grinning anymore, yet she seemed to be smiling. Her eyes were sparkling in a way he hadn't seen for a while. Seeing her like this once again reminded Eliot of what a beautiful woman she really was. He had to force himself to look away and focus on what he was supposed to do instead.

\-------------

They had left the town a while ago, both quietly enjoying the ride back home. By now, Eliot was used to Parker going through different phases during a day. Most of the time, she'd talk a lot, or ask a lot. Sometimes, half of what she was saying didn't make sense or didn't fit together, but that was usually a sign for her being in a good mood.

She also had her quiet times. In the beginning, right after they had left Dallas together, she had been quiet a couple of times, and he had realised that she had been missing the team more than he had expected. Now, a month later, she didn't seem to be upset because of that anymore. Still, she had her quiet moments at times, but to him, it rather seemed like she was deep in her thoughts then. Right now was obviously one example for that.

Even more, she startled him as she suddenly straightened herself and exclaimed, “Stop!”

“What?” he asked back, grabbing the steering wheel more firmly in an attempt to calm himself down. “Why? What's wrong?”

“Nothing,” she said, gripping his arm as she added, “Stop the car! Right here!”

“What the hell...” Groaning in response, Eliot did like he was told. According to the look in her eyes, there really wasn't anything wrong, but still something had changed. In disbelief, he stared after her as she jumped out of the car, which he had parked at the edge of the highway, in the middle of nowhere. As she ran into the field that was edging the street though, he hurried after her.

“Parker, what the hell are you doing?” he shouted after her. “It's getting dark soon! You see that red sun over there? Not the right time for crazy freak outs, okay?”

All he got in response was a happy giggle. She stopped, a few feet away from him, looking almost tiny in the flat landscape. The smile she was flashing him though was a serious threat to the brightness of the sun. He had seen her happy and excited before, but this expression topped everything. He didn't even bother to be surprised by the warmth the sight instantly caused deep within him.

“What are you doing?” Eliot repeated.

Still smiling brightly, she hurried back to him. “I'm happy!” Parker announced. “I really am! And I'm not even stealing anything, or jumping off a high skyscraper. I'm just happy because...I'm here! I'm here with you, living at this farm, doing all this work, and it's making me happy! Can you believe that? Can you?”

She stared back at him with huge, questioning eyes. Taken aback by her sudden outburst, he couldn't do anything else but keep the eye contact with her. She was happy. So much. She had rarely shown it that obviously to him, or anyone else, before. They had assumed she was happy when she could steal something, and there was no doubt she felt fantastic when jumping off a high building: her screams of joy were enough evidence for that.

But now she was happy because of plain reasons like the ones she had mentioned. Because she was out here. With him. Doing honest, hard work every single day. He hadn't been prepared for that at all, and also not for what she did then.

With another giggle, Parker jumped forward, her arms wrapping around his neck in a tight embrace. Instinctively, Eliot hugged her back, holding her close. The unexpected contact made him shiver, in a way that left no doubt to the fact that Frank was obviously more than just right with his theory.

“It's a good thing, isn't it?” she asked as she pulled back, just enough so she could look at him again.

He nodded. “Yeah. A very good thing.”

This time, she didn't response. She also didn't let go, didn't back off. Instead, she stared back at him in silence, deep into his eyes, making him shiver once again. There was an intensity in her eyes which he had never seen like that before, and he couldn't help but believe if it wasn't simply caused by her happiness.

Eliot couldn't tell whether it was him or Parker who eventually made the first step. It also didn't matter anymore as soon as they leant in until their lips met, hesitantly at first. As neither of them pulled back though, they kissed properly. It was a fascinating experience, having a powerful effect on his entire body. His arms tightened around her as he held her even closer, giving in to the sensation of their very first kiss.

He couldn't tell how long the kiss had lasted. As they parted again, he needed a moment to remember where they were, and realise that what had happened was in fact reality.

“That's a good thing as well, isn't it?” Parker asked quietly.

Eliot nodded again. “Yeah, a very good one I'd say.”

She smirked. “You'd like to do it again?”

He mirrored her expression. “Depends on whether or not you want to do it again as well.”

Once again, she didn't answer. Instead, he was rewarded with another, this time much deeper and more passionate kiss. Holding on to each other tightly, they quickly forgot about their surroundings as they continued to kiss, out there, in the middle of nowhere. But neither Eliot nor Parker cared for that as all that mattered to them was the big step they had just made together.


	9. Chapter 9

Present day

Although she was living at the farm for five years now, Parker could still remember what it had been like for her to arrive, to find herself in surroundings that were so different to everything she knew. There were no tall skyscrapers around, no lonely alleys where she could disappear.

Instead, she was surrounded by nothing else but fields. And animals. Of course Parker could understand why Eliot had doubted she would ever get used to this place back then, when she had talked him into allowing her to join him.

The barn with the horses had been the biggest challenge for her. There had just been something about those tall animals that had scared her. But eventually, her curiosity had been stronger.

By now, Parker hadn’t just understood that horses weren’t dangerous. She had learnt to be around them, had learnt how to ride them, had started to clean the barn together with the others.

Being a farmer’s girl by far wasn’t as strange and difficult as she had expected. Of course she had needed her time to get used to all those new rules she had to follow.

But eventually, she had succeeded. She had learnt a lot, and had changed a lot. Parker had reached a point where living at the farm with Eliot, Frank and Nataly, doing the hard and often exhausting work every day instead of stealing and jumping off buildings made her feel good and happy.

By now, the farm was her home, her husband, Frank and Nataly were her family. She had feared she would have to get used to being alone again after the team had separated. Instead she had moved from one family to another one though, with one person by her side who was part of both worlds.

No, Parker couldn’t imagine to leave this new world behind. It was so entirely different to everything she knew, and she couldn’t help but wonder if maybe, just maybe, this was the reason why she loved it so much. For once, she had found stability, and the knowledge that she was welcome, as long as she didn’t change her mind and decided to run away on her own.

It was another hot day: one of those where the sun would shine mercilessly. Such days reminded her of their wedding day. They had been suffering in the heat, but neither she nor Eliot had really minded. It had been a beautiful day, and had turned out exactly the way she had wanted it to: no overdone romantic stuff, no big deal. Just a wedding between two people in love.

“What are you smiling at?” Eliot asked then, interrupting Parker in her thoughts. She found him studying her with a raised eyebrow. “Last time I checked, cleaning out the barn wasn’t exactly a funny job. Especially not if a certain farmer and a certain teenage girl don’t see why they should be helping us.”

Parker chuckled in response. She knew very well that Eliot didn’t mind any work at the farm, even though she had to admit shoveling hay and whatever else could be found in the horse stalls and cleaning them while it was that hot outside wasn’t exactly one of her favourites either.

“Just been thinking about something,” she answered. “About our wedding.”

“About our wedding?” Eliot gave her a funny look in response. “You’re thinking about our wedding while cleaning the barn?”

Parker grinned as he shook his head at her and turned back to what he had previously been doing. She allowed herself a moment to watch him. She liked to see him like that: so busy with hard work, and even more when he was wearing just as much as necessary due to the heat. Parker’s grin widened at this thought.

“Keep working,” he told her without looking up.

Parker narrowed her eyes in response. With a devilish smirk, she threw a bunch of hay into his direction, using her pitchfork. She chuckled at the playful warning look Eliot gave her.

“That’s not what I was talking about,” he said. “And stop using that dirty smirk on me.”

“Why?” she asked back, although she knew the answer very well. Parker had always had a hard time with figuring out how people’s minds worked, although she wasn’t as naive as she appeared to others either. When it came to Eliot though, she had learnt to understand him, most of the time without needing long explanations, or words at all. He was the person she knew the longest, who she was around every single day. He didn’t confuse her anymore. And she knew he had developed the same gift when it came to her.

“We got work to do,” he reminded her, but she didn’t miss the brief, longing look he threw into their direction.

“If you’re in need of some help, just let me know,” another male voice said, stopping Parker before she could continue the little plan she had just made. Looking up, she watched Nate as he slowly made his way further into the barn. With him, things were different. Parker knew she wasn’t the only one who had often struggled with figuring out how Nate’s mind was working. He was even less predictable than her, which had occasionally made her nervous in the past and definitely did now. After all, who knew what the former mastermind was planning to do next?

“You’re here as a guest,” Eliot answered then. “Not to work. Besides, I bet you like to watch others working, don’t you?” He put his pitchfork aside. “I’m going to get us more water. You can take care of this stall already?”

Parker narrowed her eyes. “I could also just get us a bottle.”

“But it’s you who keeps on smiling and having fun with this.” He winked at her, grinning at the glare she gave him. Sighing deeply, Parker put her own pitchfork aside as well. She needed a break, too. Nate had joined her at the half-cleaned stall. Parker studied him in silence, feeling her old nervousness returning. There was something in Nate’s eyes that made her restless.

“What’s that plan you’re working on?” she asked eventually, unable to stay quiet any longer.

“A plan?” Nate looked back at her in surprise. “What makes you think I’m working on one?”

“Because you got that thinker-face on,” she pointed out. At his questioning look, she added, “Most people have a thinker-face. This is yours.”

“You’ve learnt to read people’s expressions?” Nate wanted to know.

“Well, yeah.” Parker nodded. “Sophie told me to pay more attention to people, remember? I realised that works quite well at times, so I tried to keep on doing that. And you always have this look when you’re planning something. So what is it?”

Nate gazed back at her in silence for a couple of moments. Parker could feel her nervousness increasing. She couldn’t help the thought that she wasn’t going to like this idea.

“There’s something I’ve been thinking about since we arrived here,” he said then. “I’ve told Eliot already that all of us got the chance to taste what it’d be like to retire and start fresh. Then again, we parted with the hope to reunite one day and continue where we stopped, and I’m starting to wonder if maybe five years have been enough.”

“You mean you’d like to...restart the team?” Parker wanted to know, dearly hoping her face wasn’t giving away the rush of panic his words had caused. “You want us to...do jobs again?”

“It’s just something I’ve been thinking about,” Nate said. “I don’t have any real plans for this yet, but reuniting might be something we should consider.”

Parker didn’t reply to that. All she managed to do was offering a little smile in response. She didn’t know what else to do, or to say. Quickly grabbing her pitchfork again, she continued her work, trying her best to fight down her increasing panic. She didn’t look up as Sophie entered the barn as well and asked Nate to go with her. She also didn’t look up as she got company again.

“Where’s Eliot?” she asked as Frank joined her at the stall where she was manically working on cleaning it.

“He’ll be back in a minute. Asked me to get you the bottle already,” he answered. Parker couldn’t help but tense at the sound of his voice. This one, she knew very well, too. She was already prepared for the question that followed then. “Is everything okay?”

Eventually looking up, Parker sighed. In the beginning, Frank would have needed longer to make her open up. After all, she needed long until she learnt to trust in people. During those five years, that had changed though. Frank was part of her new family. She knew she could talk to him if she needed to, and that he wouldn’t judge her, no matter how crazy she would sound to him.

“Nate’s thinking about restarting the team,” she blurted out before she could stop herself.

“Oh yeah?” Frank asked surprised.

Parker nodded. “Yes. He said he’s just thinking about it right now, that he doesn’t really have a plan yet, but he thinks we should consider a reunion.” She paused, not bothering to fight against the new rush of panic she could feel then. “I don’t want that! It’s why I wasn’t excited when they returned. I don’t want to give up on this here! I worked so hard on adjusting to living at a farm, and I’m doing so well! All of you said that. I...don’t want to change again. I don’t want things to get messed up!”

Frank nodded slowly. “I thought you and Eliot had a talk about that already. No one’s going to force you into anything you don’t want to do,” he replied. “If you don’t want to be part of the team again, it’s your right not to do it.”

“But it’s not that easy!” Parker answered. “I mean, what if Eliot suddenly decides he wants to go back to doing the jobs as well?”

“You don’t seriously think that, right?” Frank asked back.

She sighed. “No, I don’t think so. But...I mean, we’ve been good at what we were doing, and Nate...he knows how to talk you into something. What if I agree to do it although I don’t want to do it?”

Frank studied her in silence. She knew this expression only too well. He wouldn’t judge her, wouldn’t tell her she was stupid for being afraid of changes once again.

“You’d like me to talk to him?” he suggested then.

Parker’s eyes widened in surprise. “Really? Why would you do that?”

Frank shrugged. “Well, I’ve spent the last five years with the two of you. Every single day. I think by now, I can judge pretty well whether or not it’d be a good idea to restart the team and mess with what you guys have now.” He paused before he added, “Besides, you’re family, you know? I don’t want you to leave either. I saw how you learnt to live out here with us, and if you really fear that he could talk you into something you don’t want, maybe a stranger saying something could be a good idea.”

Parker stared back at him in surprised, having not expected this kind of support. A rush of relief filled her then: maybe Frank would manage to convince Nate. Jumping forward, she embraced him quickly, offering a smile before she returned to her work.

\---------------------

All day long, Parker had been following Frank secretly, not wanting to miss his conversation with Nate. She didn't want to miss anything of it. Parker was convinced that Frank would bring across what bothered her in a good way. More than once, he had proven that he wasn't just a hard working man: he knew how to talk to people. Very well.

After all, it had been him who had made her realise that Eliot was more than just a friend for her. Maybe he could make Nate realise that the team shouldn't be restarted again.

In the afternoon, she finally got her chance to listen. Frank had found Nate in the kitchen. Hiding in the dining room, Parker listened closely as her friend approached their former mastermind.

“So, Nate,” he said, joining the other man at the kitchen counter. “You like your stay at the farm so far? Certainly not something you've done often yet.”

“Indeed,” Nate agreed. “But yeah, I'm enjoying it very much. It's different to be out here. Really gives you the chance to relax.”

Frank nodded slowly. From her hiding place, Parker could see how he narrowed his eyebrows slightly, and she knew he tried to think about how to get to the point best. A tiny sigh escaped him then.

“I'm not that good at small talk, you know,” he said. “So I'll just get to the topic. Parker said you're planning to restart the team?”

“It's just been a thought I had,” Nate answered, taking another sip of the beer he had gotten himself out of the refrigerator. “But it's something I'm considering.”

Frank nodded again. “Care to listen to a stranger's opinion on that?”

Looking up, Nate gave him a questioning look. There it was again, Parker thought. Nate's thinker-face.

“Sure,” was his short answer.

Frank sighed again. “Listen, I think you shouldn't do this,” he said. “I've spent the last five years together with those two. Every single day. I've seen them adjusting to living at a farm. Eliot got used to it rather quickly, although even he needed a while for that. Parker needed more time, but she really wanted to make it work. You've certainly seen how she's changed during the time she was with the team, right? How she went from someone not being able to work with others to a person who had accepted the team as some kind of a family. That was already a big step for her. But look at her now. She's stopped stealing: she just does it occasionally when she feels like it, but only for fun, not because she has to do it. She also doesn't constantly have to jump off something high to feel good. She's learnt to be happy out here. It's a stable, calm life she's living out here with us. You can't imagine how scared she is that things could change again. That you could take away what she's learnt to love so much, because she has to be part of the team again. It's been hard enough to move on, and she invested a lot into this fresh start. She's not good with changes, as you surely know, and I don't think she should go through another one again. Now that she found stability, she should be able to simply lean back and enjoy it, shouldn't she?”

Although no one was seeing her, or was aware of her presence in the first place, Parker could feel her cheeks heating up. Frank had summed up her situation and thoughts pretty well. Nate gazed back at him in silence, allowing himself a couple of moments to let the other man's words sink in.

“So you think it wouldn't be a good idea to restart the team?” Nate eventually asked. “You don't even think I should suggest it to them, let them decide whether or not they want this?”

“Honestly?” Frank asked back. “No. Because they would consider it for you, not for themselves. It's not easy to say 'no' to someone you care for, right? Deep inside, both know what they want. But actually saying so to you...doubt that's so easy.”

Nate nodded thoughtfully. “You care for them a lot, don't you?” he asked then.

“Yeah,” Frank answered. “I do. They're family for me. But before you say something about being personally involved and just wanting them to stay here...that might be true, yeah. But all I really care for is them being happy. Both of them have quite a complicated past. Out here, they finally managed to leave this behind and completely start fresh. That's a good feeling. I know what I'm talking about.”

Nate studied him with a curious expression. “How exactly did you and Eliot meet back then?” he wanted to know.

Frank chuckled. “Well, let me tell you this: we were hired for the same job. Eventually, we were beating each other up over the stuff we were supposed to get back for our bosses.”

A tiny smirk lit Nate's face. “Who won?”

“What do you think?” Frank sighed playfully. “Not me. Although I was pretty good myself back then. But you can't be the best at everything, right?”

Nate chuckled. Then his face turned serious again. “So you think I should drop that thought? For them? Accept that we've all come to a point where we've moved on?”

Frank nodded. “Yeah. Or come up with some kind of compromise. But don't pull them out of what's become home for them.” With a smirk, he added, “I'm quite protective of the two of them, you know? You wouldn't want to mess with me, Ford.”

Nate mirrored his smirk. “Is that supposed to be a threat?”

“You never know,” Frank replied with a wink.

Nate nodded, his smile softening. “Tell Parker she doesn't have to worry,” he said. “I'm not going to do anything that'll turn her world upside down. Not again.”

Parker didn't hear Frank's response. She had already left the dining room and sneaked out of the house. A broad smile was plastered across her face. Frank had managed to do it: he had brought across her point in a way that made sense to Nate, who had then promised not to mess things up. Of course she didn't know whether or not Nate had really decided to forget about his plan. He was stubborn after all, and she doubted one could simply talk him out of a decision. Still she believed the plan had worked a lot better than she had expected. Quickly, she made her way to the garden behind the farm house, where she knew her husband was collecting vegetables for dinner.

“Eliot?” she asked as she joined him. “We have to make something special after dinner. Just for Frank.”

Looking up, he gave her a questioning look. “Why? What did you do now?”

She rolled her eyes. “I didn't do anything! Why do you always think that anyway?”

Eliot shrugged. “I don't know. Because you never do stuff you're not supposed to do, right?”

Parker sighed playfully. “Fine. But this time, I really didn't do anything. Frank just did something nice for us. Because he talked Nate out of wanting to restart the team.”

“Nate wanted to do that?” Eliot asked surprised.

Parker nodded. “Yeah. At least he was thinking about it.” Snuggling into his side, she linked her arms with his. “Frank noticed I wasn't too happy about that, so he asked what's wrong and I told him. And he said he'd talk to Nate. That's what he did, and I think he made enough sense to Nate to make him see that we don't want things to change again.”

He raised an eyebrow at her as he replied, “But didn't I tell you that you didn't have to worry in the first place? Nate wouldn't have been able to talk us into doing something we don't want to do. We discussed that more than once.”

“Still saying 'no' if he had actually asked us wouldn't have been easy, right?” she asked back. “Well, he won't now, if he listens to Frank, and that's why I want us to do something nice for him.”

Eliot nodded. “Fine. Any plans yet?”

“Yes.” Parker smiled brightly. “Something sweet. With chocolate maybe. He likes sweet and chocolate after all. And I want to help, so it's from the both of us. As a thank you, you know?”

“Fine,” he repeated. “We'll do that after dinner, alright?”

Her smile widened. “Sounds perfect.”

Nodding again, Eliot turned his attention back to the vegetable. Parker joined in, working in silence as she mentally replayed Frank's words. Indeed she had changed a lot, and had invested a lot of work into becoming the woman she was now. It felt good to know that people were seeing the effort she had made. This place was their home, and she was glad that Nate had finally understood that.


	10. Chapter 10

Five years ago

At times, it was surprising how easily things could work out. Getting together with Parker hadn't even been a real option for Eliot when he had realised that he was having feelings for her in the first place, when he had figured out that he cared more for her than he should if he was just her friend.

He hadn't understood why Frank was so convinced that the two of them should give a relationship a try, especially as the man in question had experience with what could happen if a relationship did not work out. There was no doubt Frank was still struggling with his failed marriage.

Obviously his friend had seen something Eliot hadn't been aware of though, and he was entirely convinced that Frank had had a similar conversation with Parker as well. Still, he hadn't really believed in his friend's theory. Frank wasn't a matchmaker after all.

That he had feelings for Parker though was true. Eliot had needed his time to admit it to himself, but after that, there hadn't been any way for him to deny this fact any longer. Same counted for his wish to be together with her.

Actually going for what he wanted hadn't seemed to be an option though. There had been the risk of his feelings not being mutual, and things getting awkward between them.

Eventually, it had been Frank whose theory had turned out to be right. Their kiss had come out of nowhere, caused by the moment, but neither of them had regretted it, or even felt the urge to back off. It had felt just right.

One kiss. More, they hadn't needed. No discussion about whether or not they were in a relationship now. No discussion about what they were expecting from each other, and where they wanted to go from there. Gestures could say more than a million words, and they had simply relied on the fact that a kiss like the one they had shared had answered all open questions.

Where would they go from there? It didn't matter. Both of them shared the wish to be together obviously. That was enough for the beginning. Everything else would just develop with the time. Same had happened with their friendship, same had happened with their feelings.

And same had happened with their fresh start as well. An entire month they had spent at the farm already. When he had planned where to go first after the team had separated, Eliot hadn't wasted much time with wondering about how much time he wanted to spend at the farm before he would head somewhere else. Now, a month later, the idea of actually going somewhere else didn't even come to his mind, and he couldn't help but wonder if Parker was feeling the same way. Why else would she invest so much time and energy into getting used to her new surroundings, to this new life?

Eliot threw a quick glance at the kitchen clock as he made his way through the small room. He would have to start working on dinner soon. Another quick glance, out of the window this time, revealed to him that a certain someone had returned to the farm house as well by now, obviously didn't seem to be interested in coming in though.

Leaving the house, Eliot narrowed his eyes as he focused on the small figure in the distance. Indeed, over there, on top of one of the hills, almost hidden by the thick grass that was surrounding her, sat Parker, facing him with her back. She sat completely still, staring at whatever had caught her attention. Or at nothing at all. Lately, he had caught her during her thoughtful moments rather often. A lot had changed for her since the team had separated. She had to adjust to an entirely new environment, unsure on whether or not she would ever be able to get back to what she was used to. Eliot knew changing brought a lot of new thoughts with it. Old habits were questioned, behaviour and thoughts were analysed.

Grabbing a bottle of water, knowing that she still struggled with drinking enough out there in the heat, Eliot made his way over to her. She didn't move, even though he knew Parker had noticed his presence a long time before he got close to her. Wordlessly and without looking up, she accepted the bottle of water he handed to his girlfriend as he joined her. They sat in silence for a while, and being so close to her now, Eliot knew his second theory had been the right one. She was thinking again, about whatever had come to her mind during yet another day of hard work in the fields.

“Will you tell me what you're thinking about?” he asked eventually, as he was sure she wouldn't start talking on her own any time soon.

She shrugged. “It's silly stuff. I don't think it'd make sense to you.”

“You can't know that if you don't give it a try,” Eliot encouraged her. “Believe me, you've told me crazy stuff that often already. I don't think there's much left that could make me roll my eyes at you.”

A tiny chuckle escaped Parker at his words. “It's not crazy stuff, I'm just not sure it makes any sense,” she told him. She paused before she continued, “See...being here...it's like being in a new world. Everything's different. I had to learn so much during the last few weeks, and still have to. When I get up in the morning, I know there's a well-structured day ahead of me. It was never like that in the past. We never knew whether or not a new job would be around the corner, and in which state or which country we'd have to work. And before that...I never knew what was ahead of me. I could create my plans...I'd know what to do if I broke into something. But still...you can't compare that at all.”

Shaking her head, she took another sip from her bottle. Then she sighed. “And now...I get up and it's time for breakfast. Then we head out and have a look at the fences, check if the cattle is doing well. We take care of the fields, of the vegetable garden, of the horses...everything's planned out. In the evening, we'll have dinner, then we do whatever we like and go to bed. Everything's on repeat the next day. I've never experienced something like that before. And all the stuff I'm doing...it's so new, too. I mean, I'm working with animals! With horses even! I'm riding a horse when we're checking on the fences! I've learnt to follow rules that aren't my own. I'm not really stealing at the moment. I mean, snagging yours or Frank's or Nataly's stuff isn't really stealing because I'll always give it back. There are also no high skyscrapers I can jump off, or elevator shafts. Everything's totally different out here. So you'd think I'd feel odd and confused here, right?”

“I think so,” Eliot answered. Her speech had caught his attention. Parker telling him that she was happy although she wasn't doing what she'd used to do for as long as she could think had eventually led to a certain moment that had pushed them and their relationship into a new direction after all. What was going on inside her mind now? Was she confused by this happiness? Was she even afraid she was changing too much?

Before he could ask though, she nodded. “See? But it's not that way,” she said. “Instead...it seems like I'm more myself than I've ever been.” She stopped again, and much to his surprise, her cheeks were flushing. “Doesn't that sound crazy to you?”

“Not yet,” he admitted, although her statement had surprised him.

Parker smiled relieved. “Good then. Because...it's really true. I mean...I always thought I'm only just a thief. That it's everything I can do. I know how to open even the best safe, how to snag wallets and whatever else I want, how to jump off buildings, and all that stuff. A thief. That was me. Stealing was what I was doing since I was a little girl. It helped me to survive, and later, when I got really good at it, it was really a lot of fun, too. But then...” She sighed again. “It's so weird, because it seems like I'm more than just a thief now, you know? I really do learn fast obviously. You and Frank both said I'm doing a good job at the farm. I thought I'd feel all empty if I wasn't always stealing something, but it's not that way. I feel really good! And I'm not bored by every day being the same way, because technically, there's always something new going on. Just...other things, you know? I'm also still able to get my adrenaline kicks, just in a different way. And...finally, I don't have to pretend anything anymore either.”

She took a deep breath, holding it for a moment before she released it again. “No one's teaching me how to control my face, how I'm supposed to look at others, how I'm supposed to talk. I'm not told to make eye contact and behave in a certain way. I don't have to wear fine dresses and walk on shoes that are too high for me. No one's saying 'Parker!' and making this annoyed face because I said or did something silly again. It doesn't matter if I don't want to look someone in the eyes. It doesn't matter if I say a stupid sentence or don't smile. Because a fence doesn't care if I smile at it and say something nice while I'm fixing it. Frank also doesn't care as long as I'm doing what I'm supposed to do and don't mess up or get lost in the fields. It's all so different and there's so much to learn, but...it feels easier to me, you know? You guys are teaching me stuff so I can learn and get stuff done. You're not trying to change me into another person, you're not trying to make me be better.”

Pausing for another moment, Parker finally looked up. “I'm not making any sense at all, right? Told you so.”

But Eliot shook his head in response. “It makes perfect sense to me,” he said quietly, needing a moment to let everything she had said sink in. Parker had never been a person who loved to be around people, unless she liked them and trusted in them. He could understand she had often felt like she had to pretend to be someone else, because otherwise, the roles she had to play wouldn't have worked. Things had been easier for her when she only had to break into safes and buildings to get what she wanted. Out here at the farm, there were only three other people she had to interact with. Apart from them, she only had to deal with objects or animals, and was experiencing for the first time what stability felt like. And, also for the first time, she was able to see that there was more to her than a thief. She was a smart woman, able to learn fast. 

He knew very well what she was currently going through, what she was feeling at this realisation, because he had been at this point himself. He could still remember what it had been like to realise that he was more than the dangerous man he had once been, unable to feel. There was more to them than what they had been good at for so long.

“You can really be proud of yourself, you know?” he said then.

“You think so?” Parker asked back.

Eliot nodded. “Absolutely. You've come really far, Parker. I didn't forget how you've been when I met you for the first time. Then look at the person you've been when the team parted. And look at yourself now.”

A proud smile lit her face at his words. “So I'm really doing good?” she wanted to know.

“Yeah, you are,” he assured her. Another idea, which he had already been playing with more than once during the day, came to his mind then and he added, “What do you think? Would you like to go on a first date with me?”

“A date?” Parker's eyes widened. “Where are you going to take me?”

It was Eliot's turn to smile. “That's a surprise. You'll have to wait and see.”

“Oh no! Tell me!” she demanded.

He laughed. “No, Parker. Be patient. You trust in me, don't you? Just wait and see.”

She pouted in response, couldn't hide the excitement in her eyes though. A date, just for the two of them: it was well-deserved in his opinion.

\------------------

Not telling Parker what he had in mind had turned out to be more exhausting than Eliot would have dared to imagine. Somewhere along the line, she had stopped questioning him directly. Instead, she had sent Nataly in though, who would more or less coincidentally ask where one would go for a date if they were working and living at a farm.

By the time dinner was over and the kitchen was clean again, he was almost relieved to leave together with her, knowing that her attempts at making him open up would finally stop.

“What's in the bag?” she wanted to know as they made their way over to the barn. “It's a pretty big bag. What's in there?”

Sighing, he rolled his eyes at her. “I said you'll see, okay? Can you just stop questioning me all the time?”

Parker just grinned in response. “No. Besides, I can just steal what's in the bag. Before you know it.”

“Then we won't go on a date at all,” he told her.

Narrowing her eyes, Parker studied him for a moment, seemingly debating whether or not he was serious. Then, with a sigh, she shrugged. “Fine. But will you tell me what we need the horses for?”

He didn't answer. Ignoring Parker's complaining about his lack of cooperation wasn't exactly easy. Same counted for keeping a straight face. Only when they had finally managed to leave the farm behind together, both on horses now, Eliot spoke up again.

“There's not really anything you can do out here when it comes to dates,” he told her. “At least not when it comes to what people assume is worth to be called a date.”

“What'd that be?” she wanted to know.

“Well, things like going to a restaurant for example,” he suggested. “Or to a bar.”

Parker didn't look impressed. “Honestly? I won't ever understand why people think going to a restaurant is a good idea for a date. I mean, aren't dates supposed to be something special? People can eat together every day if they want to.”

Eliot suppressed a chuckle at her words, knowing she was completely serious. “And what'd be special to you?” he asked back instead. “Back in the city, that'd certainly have been jumping of the city's highest skyscraper, right?”

Parker gave him a funny look. “No, of course not. That's not special either. I was doing that every day after all.” She shrugged. “I don't know what'd have been special enough for a date.”

He shook his head at her. “You might be complicated and exhausting at times, but if all women cared for dates the way you do, it'd take a lot of pressure off the guys.”

“And what are we going to do now?” she repeated her question for what he believed had to be the millionth time.

“Like I said, there isn't really a lot to do out here,” he said. “But I think you and I being alone would already be a good thing, right? Just you and me, out here.”

Parker's eyes widened even more. “Out here? In the fields? Like, with no house?”

“No one's going to steal you, I'm with you after all,” he assured her.

She flashed him a glare. “You don't seriously think I'm scared! But...that's actually a pretty cool idea. Means there's only the sky, the fields and us. And the horses of course.”

“Pretty much, yeah,” Eliot agreed. “So...you think that's okay to you as a first date?”

His answer was a bright smile. Pleasing Parker could be so easy at times. A little adventure was exactly what she needed. He could only imagine how much a normal dinner at a restaurant would have bored her.

They made their way across the fields until the sun had disappeared completely and only the moon and stars above were offering their pale light. Close to a lonely tree, Eliot signalled her to stop. He didn't try to prevent her from helping him with setting up a fire place for them: by now, she was so excited that making her stay still would have been close to impossible.

Much to his surprise, Parker managed to sit next to him, staring at the fire in front of her in silence for several minutes after that though. Studying her, he could almost see all the thoughts that were running through her mind. Every single day, she was learning something new. A date in the wilderness was just another addition to the long list.

“It's nice out here,” she said then, offering another of her bright smiles. “You know, it's kinda romantic?”

“It's not romantic!” Eliot shook his head at her.

“Of course it is!” Parker told him, her smile widening. “There are stars above. And a fire. Isn't that romantic?”

“Candle light dinners are, not bonfires,” he replied, glaring at the amused look he was giving her. Romantic. Most stuff of what women considered to be 'romantic' made him shudder. Were a setting, sweet words and things like that really needed to show one's feelings? He didn't think so. Especially as romantic moments could easily be faked, and didn't say anything about the involved peoples' feelings for each other.

Of course he couldn't deny that in some ways, his idea could be considered to be romantic. Most other women would think so: sitting at a bonfire with their boyfriend, the stars above. He could already see them turning to him, with a bright smile and sparkling eyes, amazed by the wonderful setting, and convinced that this was a great start for a lovely, sweet relationship. After all, if a man managed to come up with a nice and creative idea for a first date, he had to be amazing.

Inwardly, he shuddered at this thought. No, this wasn't the purpose of their date at all. Eliot didn't want to impress Parker, and he knew he also didn't have to. The plain reason why he had taken her out to this place was the chance to be alone, to just focus on each other, and spend some private time without the threat of being interrupted. He knew she didn't expect him to come up with sweet speeches or point out stellar constellations to her. Talking, and even more talking, would either annoy or bore her with the time. A smile lit his face at this thought. How lucky he was that his girlfriend had a male view on such things.

Instinctively, Eliot wrapped an arm around her shoulders as Parker moved closer. He could feel she was comfortable: exactly what he had been hoping for. He knew she loved being around Frank and Nataly, and was trusting in them more and more. Still, he also knew she liked being with him the most. For a couple of reasons, he assumed.

Feeling the way she snuggled into his side, he relaxed as well. Things could be so easy at times. When Eliot had discovered his feelings for her for the first time, he had worried that they would complicated their friendship, would cause an unwelcome awkwardness. Even after finding out that there was a chance she could have feelings for him as well, the fear of things getting messed up had stayed.

It had been an unnecessary fear. Eliot was convinced that being together with Parker would be a challenge at times, and that she would test his nerves even more than she already did. She was stubborn, just like him. She was complicated, in her very own way, but again, just like him. And she had absolutely no idea how to make a relationship work. Just like him, so he'd say, because he couldn't really claim to be fantastic at keeping up a happy relationship either.

But maybe this was their chance. Neither of them really knew what to do to make it work. Of course he was aware of what most women expected from a relationship, which rules he was supposed to follow. But all those expectations didn't matter for Parker. Her response to discussing what a date was supposed to be like had proven that to him.

They would be able to invent their very own definition of a relationship, their own rules, and maybe this was their chance to actually make it work. After all, so many relationships were constantly failing, despite people doing them in the traditional way everyone decided to go with. Why did a couple have to go to an expensive, romantic restaurant, gazing each other deeply into the eyes and saying romantic buzzwords, probably fearing all the time to make a mistake that could offend the other person, if they could simply sit with each other, just the two of them, without any overdone expectations?

Eliot gazed down at Parker as he felt her shift in his arms. She was still smiling at him. She wasn't studying him with misty eyes. Instead, she simply looked happy.

“I really like it a lot,” she admitted. Leaning in a little further, she smirked. “You know what else I'd like a lot?”

“Why don't you show me?” he asked back with a smirk of his own.

He had barely finished the sentence when her lips were already firmly pressed against his. He pulled her even closer, holding her tight as her arms wrapped around his neck. He could taste the passion in her kiss, the longing that made him shiver in the most delicious way he could imagine.

“Aren't the horse going to watch us?” she wanted to know as they briefly parted.

He couldn't suppress the amused chuckle that escaped him at her question. “No, I don't think so. Guess the grass's more interesting for them than the two of us.”

His answer seemed to satisfy Parker. Once again, she kissed him deeply, all doubts forgotten obviously. Eliot knew he couldn't have come up with a better idea for their first date. He also knew he wouldn't have had to take her on a date in the first place. But still, this little tradition was a lovely one, especially if done in their very own way.


	11. Chapter 11

When Eliot had announced he wanted to go on a date with Parker, she had wondered what he could have possibly been up to. So far, she had never been on a date before. She didn’t even know what exactly people did on first dates, and whether or not they could do that out here, too.

Unfortunately, he was as stubborn as her though. Whatever trick she had tried, he hadn’t answered her questions, had firmly refused to tell her what he had planned for them. She would have to wait and see until the actual date, because it was supposed to be a surprise.

Surprises were good, but still that didn’t change the fact Parker hated to wait. She had sent Nataly in, wanting her to find out what Eliot was planning, but the girl hadn’t succeeded either. Eventually, she really had to wait and see.

A date. What could they possibly do out here? There were no restaurants around, or any other places couples could go to. Even in town, there was only one single diner, and that was quite far away.

Parker hadn’t had any idea what Eliot could possibly be planning, and so, his idea had taken her by surprise. Spending the night outside? Interesting indeed.

Blinking a few times, Parker tried to adjust to the bright light that was greeting her as she woke up. A smile lit her face as she remembered where she was. A soft, warm breeze was greeting her, gently caressing her face. Above, she could hear the wind playing with the leaves of a tree. A few birds were singing, and she could hear the horses were still nearby, too.

Opening her eyes, she took in her surroundings. The sun was just about to rise. Parker had watched this beautiful moment many times before in the past. Tightly wrapped into a sleeping bag while being held by her boyfriend made it even more special though. A strong warmth started to fill her, spreading into every inch of her body. She knew it wasn't caused by the sun, or by the heat of the early morning.

She was happy. Again. Lately, that seemed to happen quite often. The previous day, Parker had tried to find the right words for what she was currently experiencing. According to Eliot, she had made sense to him with her description. Maybe her thoughts weren't that complicated after all.

Snuggling further into him, she released a comfortable sigh. Yes, out here, she felt more like herself than she had ever done before. She had figured out that there was more to her than a talented thief. Parker hadn't forgotten how she had wanted to prove that to Eliot as much as to herself in the beginning, and had almost gotten herself into serious trouble with that. 

Now she had gotten to a point where she didn't feel like she had to prove anything to anyone anymore. It seemed like she had arrived at home, fitted in perfectly well and just had to do what she had learnt, without constantly worrying she could do it the wrong way somehow.

Of course there were still times when she missed the team's jobs. There had just been something exciting about them, especially when she had been allowed to do what she could do best. Breaking into buildings and safes, stealing stuff and jumping off buildings was something she had done since being a child. She was good at it. Fantastic even.

But now, she had found something else to do. Something she was good at as well, although this world was so new to her, so different to everything she knew. Things out here definitely weren't easier. Not at all. They had to work hard every single day. After all, a farm couldn't run itself. But for Parker, the things she had to do were easy to learn. Now, she didn't have to worry about her facial expression, about what she would say and how she would say it. Well-chosen words weren't needed while one was taking care of a cattle herd, or was fixing a fence.

Despite what she had expected, Parker had gotten used to this small and stable world. Stability was good. It was an entirely new experience for her, but definitely an enjoyable one. For a long time, she had only known the uncertainty of the next day, and had believed that things just had to be that way. After all, she would easily get bored if she didn't constantly have to ask herself what a new day would bring.

Obviously, the saying that one couldn't miss what they didn't know applied to her perfectly though. Parker had never experienced what it was like to live a normal, stable life. She had never done a normal job, had never experienced what it was like to face the same routine every day. Now that she knew what it was like, she didn't want to miss it anymore. 

She had gotten used to knowing that every morning, she and Eliot would wake up together, would have breakfast in the kitchen with Frank and Nataly and would then check on the cattle herds and fences. She had gotten used to coming back to the farm house every evening, to having dinner together and discussing the events of the day. Parker was convinced that such a life could bore others easily, and that there had been a time when she would have had major problems with it herself. 

By now, it was a most welcome experience though. Parker had seen a lot of the world, had faced her fair share of adventures, with and without the team. She knew what such a life was like, and had enjoyed it. But now was the time to move on and enjoy something else, something new.

As this realisation hit her, a bright smile lit her face. Opening her eyes once again, Parker adjust her position until she could face Eliot. She wasn't surprised by the fact that he was already awake as well, studying her closely.

“You look happy,” he stated, still with that sleepy voice she liked so much.

“Because I am.” Smiling even more, Parker leant in to kiss him. “It's nice out here. Can we sleep in the fields every day?”

He raised his eyebrows at her, seeming to have a hard time with not laughing. “Then it wouldn't be special anymore, would it?” he asked back.

Parker considered that for a moment. “True,” she admitted. “But we can do it again, right?”

Eliot shrugged. “Sure. I don't see why we couldn't. Maybe once a month or so. Kinda like a little dating tradition. Allows us to get away from the farm for a bit, to be on our own.”

His voice trailed off again. Parker could see he had wanted to say more, but something had interrupted him. A thoughtful expression had appeared in his eyes, and he looked almost confused. Tilting her head to the side, Parker studied him in silence, waiting for him to continue. Sometimes, she wished she was as good at reading minds as Nate had seemed to be so often, although she had to admit she and Eliot had gotten almost perfect at communicating without needing a lot of words.

“Of course that depends on how long we'll stay here,” he said eventually.

“Oh.” Parker nodded. “Of course. Yeah, we...might go somewhere else. One day.” Biting her bottom lip, she stared back at him, this time not wondering what he was thinking about though. His words had reminded her of one fact: they had never agreed to stay at the farm forever. In the beginning, he had told her he wanted to stay for a while, to relax and leave the past behind. He believed there was no better place for that, and she had realised he had been right with that statement.

A little more than a month had passed since their arrival, and during this time, Parker had started to believe that Eliot didn't really want to travel anywhere else. He had adjusted to their new surroundings so quickly. He seemed to be more relaxed than he had ever been before. He liked this place a lot.

But still, he had never officially told her how long he wanted to stay. Since the beginning, their stay at the farm had been supposed to be temporary. Being confronted with this fact now, Parker could feel a lump in her throat. How much longer would they live at the farm? For a few more weeks? Or months? The simple idea of leaving already made her feel uncomfortable.

“What are you thinking about?”

Eliot's question interrupted her in her thoughts. Parker shuddered lightly as he ran a hand through her hair. Was it possible they wouldn't spend another night out here in the fields, because they would soon be somewhere else?

“Nothing,” she decided to say, unwilling to explain to him what this one sentence, coming from him, had done to her mind. It was spinning now. Right now, after finally realising that she felt like she had arrived at home, she was confronted with the option of having to leave everything she had gotten used to behind.

“I think we should go back soon,” Eliot said then. “We'll be late otherwise.”

Parker just nodded in response. The look Eliot gave her revealed that he knew very well something was bothering her. He didn't ask though, and she was grateful for that. She didn't want to voice her thoughts until she was sure what exactly she wanted to say, or what she was really thinking in the first place.

\------------------

Leaning against the fence that separated the farm house from the surrounding fields, Parker took in the familiar view in front of her. The sandwich, which she was holding, was as good as ever, but she couldn't really make herself eat it.

Her mind was too busy with thinking, and prevented her from getting hungry obviously. It amazed her how much one sentence could affect a person already. One single sentence. Whether or not hers and Eliot's date could turn into a monthly routine depended on how long they would stay at the farm.

Was there anything special about this sentence, anything new? No, certainly not. All the time, she had been aware of the fact that somewhere along the line, they would go somewhere else. At least she should have been aware of it.

Shaking her head, Parker sighed deeply. What would it be like to leave this place behind and do something else? Would she even be able to face such a change again in the near future? Could she handle it?

She couldn't tell. Most likely, both of them would be able to leave the farm behind, just like they had managed to leave the team behind. They had been forced to separate from the team though.

But they weren't forced to leave the farm. Was she willing to go somewhere else? To face a new adventure? To go back to stealing maybe? She couldn't tell for sure, but right now, it seemed like the answer to this question was a rather solid 'no'.

“Hey Parker!”

Startled back to the present by Nataly's voice, Parker looked up. She hadn't heard how the girl had made her way over to her, had stepped next to her. She shook her head to clear her mind: at least out here, being lost in one's thoughts didn't really mean trouble, but it was still something she disliked to happen.

“It's good to see you,” Nataly said before she got the chance to reply. “I wanted to ask you how the date was. I'm sorry I couldn't find out what Eliot was planning for you.”

Parker needed a moment to understand what the girl was talking about. She had almost forgotten that she had talked Nataly into helping with getting information from her boyfriend.

“Oh,” she said eventually. “It was really nice. We went for a ride with the horses and slept in the fields. Was really a great date.” She tried to smile.

Nataly chuckled. “I bet so. I'm sure first dates are cool. Although...” She shuddered. “I'm not sure I'll ever want to do something like that. Because boys are just...ugh.”

Parker nodded in agreement. She could understand where the girl was coming from. Most boys and men she had met had indeed been 'ugh'.

Another chuckle escaped Nataly then. “Are you and Eliot going to get married soon?” she wanted to know. “I mean now that you're together and dating and all.”

Parker's eyes widened in surprise. “Um...I don't know.” She cursed herself for blushing at the girl's question. Getting married. So far, that hadn't even come to her mind. Especially as said mind was busy with other thoughts right now. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes.

“Do you think we should stay here forever?” she blurted out then, unable to keep the question in any longer. It was Nataly's turn to look up in surprise. Of course, the girl hadn't been prepared for a question in return. Parker knew she should have gone to Frank with it, but Frank was working with Eliot right now.

“You mean what I want?” Nataly asked back. At Parker's nod, she answered, “Well, I was hoping you'd stay here forever. But...” She paused. “Do you want to leave?”

Parker shook her head. “No. I don't think so.”

“And Eliot?”

She shrugged. “I don't know. Maybe. Maybe not.” She sighed deeply. 

Nataly nodded slowly. “Well...if you think he wants to go and you don't want to go...maybe you should tell him?”

“That's not so easy.”

Nataly raised her eyebrows in disbelief. “Why? I mean, you even dared to let him know that you're into him. If you can do that, you can do everything.”

“Oh yes?” Parker looked surprised.

Nataly nodded again. “Yeah! I mean...letting a guy know you have a crush on him...” She shuddered. “That's so embarrassing! But still you managed to do.”

Parker laughed in response. “So you think I can do it? Tell him I'd like to stay here?”

“Well, I'd be happy if you did.” Nataly smiled brightly. “I really like you a lot, you know? You're something like a big sister for me. It's so funny to talk to you, or to ride on the horses with you. Or when you're helping me with my homework! I got a really good grade for my last paper. The one about the Greek statues, remember?”

Parker couldn't help the proud smile that lit her face at the girl's words. She hadn't gone to highschool herself, had to learn from own experience. When Nataly had approached her for the first time, asking for help, she had tried to wiggle her way out, afraid to embarrass herself in front of her. Eventually, she had still given it a try though, and had soon figured out she knew a lot more than she had expected. Especially about certain topics.

“Fine,” she said then. “I'll tell him.” With a smirk, she added, “But only if you tell the boy you have a crush on him, too.”

“Which boy?” Nataly's eyes widened in surprise, but her red cheeks gave her away.

Parker grinned. “My friend Sophie taught me how to pay attention to people and realise when they're trying to hide something. There's a boy you like, right? That's why you brought that up.” She grinned even more at the look she got in response. “See, not all boys are stupid. Your Dad isn't. Eliot's a nice man, too. And I know at least three more men that are nice. Maybe the boy is, too.”

“And if he's not?” Nataly asked back.

“Then we'll think of a new plan.” She winked, laughing again at Nataly's expression. Finally taking a large bite of her sandwich, she leant back against the fence, determined to do what she had promised to do. No matter how difficult the conversation might turn out to be.

\------------------

Parker decided to wait until she and Eliot had returned to their bedroom. She knew he was aware of the fact that something was ahead. He had learnt to understand her pretty well over the past years, and especially during the last few weeks. There wasn't much she could hide from him.

“Will you finally tell me what's bothering you?” he asked then, just like she had expected. Joining her in bed, he studied her with a questioning look. “And no 'nothing', okay? You've been acting weird since we headed back home this morning. What happened? Did I do or say something that upset you?”

Parker shook her head. Taking a deep breath, she tried to calm her nerves, wanting to bring her point across as good as possible. It was important he understood what she really had in mind, especially if he had a different opinion.

“You said whether or not we'll make the date a monthly routine depends on how long we'll stay at the farm,” she finally said. “I was thinking about that for quite a while. Guess I wasn't prepared for you to say that.”

“Why?” he wanted to know, looking confused now. “I mean...it's true, isn't it? We don't know how long we'll stay here, do we?”

Parker shrugged. There would have been a time when she would have run from such a conversation, and wouldn't even have started it in the first place. This wasn't a stranger though. She was facing Eliot, her boyfriend, the person she knew the best and trusted in the most. He wouldn't use her words against her. He never had.

“Honestly?” she asked then. “I...well, I thought you really love being here. That you...don't really plan on leaving the farm again. That's one reason why I wanted to get used to this so much. And see, it worked. I really love being here. I told you why yesterday. And then...”

Her voice trailed off. Hesitantly, she made eye contact with Eliot again, curious if he had understood and what he would think of her words. To her surprise, his expression had changed, and to her disbelief, he looked almost guilty now.

“I'm sorry,” he said, shaking his head. “It was stupid of me to say that. Seems like I wasn't really that awake yet, huh? Otherwise, I'd have invested some more thinking before opening my mouth.”

“What do you mean?” Parker asked, being the confused one now. “Why are you sorry?”

“Because what I said wasn't what I was thinking,” Eliot admitted. “I said we could make it a monthly routine, and then realised that actually, we never really talked about this. About just staying here, you know? When we left Dallas, I said I didn't know how for long I wanted to be here, that it'd be a while because I wanted to relax a little. Saying what I said sounded to me like I was just expecting us to stay here, without asking you first whether or not you actually want that. I was worried what you'd think of me assuming that'd be okay, so I added that it depends on how long we want to live at the farm. Guess I forgot how much you love being here by now.”

Parker's eyes widened in surprise. “That means you're not planning on leaving the farm?”

“Unless that's what you want, no.” Eliot shook his head.

“But if you want to stay here with me, why didn't you just ask me?” she wanted to know.

He rolled his eyes at her. “Oh, come on! You're not the only one who's a little complicated at times. You've adjusted to living on a farm so well, and I didn't want to push you.” He paused. “You can't imagine how happy you made me with saying that you feel like you can be yourself out here. That it makes you feel so good. I thought that'd make it a lot easier. To ask you if you could imagine to stay here with me, you know? Seems like I don't need to find an excuse to bring that topic up anymore though. Thanks to you.”

Parker shook his head at him in a mix of surprise and disbelief. Was it possible that what had been bothering her all day long could be solved that easily? “So that means basically we want the same?” she asked, to be sure.

Eliot chuckled. “Yeah, seems like that.” Wrapping his arms around her, he pulled her closer. “See? That happens when you misunderstand each other.”

“You get all confused.” She chuckled in amusement. Then she released a sigh of relief. “That means...we're going to be farmers from now on. Officially.”

“Yeah.” He nodded. “Officially.”

“You think Frank's okay with that?” she wanted to know.

“Are you kidding me?” he asked back. “I think he adopted us as part of his family already.”

Those words made Parker smile even more. They were welcome at the farm: there was no doubt about that. And now she knew that she and Eliot shared the same wish. They would stay at the farm. Together. And most likely, their monthly date wouldn't be their only little tradition.


	12. Chapter 12

1 year ago

When the team had to separate, neither of its members had been aware of how long they would have to stay apart from each other. It was necessary that people stopped looking for them, that they could return and restart without attracting too much attention. A few weeks? Not long enough. Maybe a few months?

In fact, every team member had expected that a few years could easily pass until they would be able to reunite. Nate had assured them that they would work together again one day. But he hadn't been able to fool them: there had been a true chance that they would have to work on their own again for a while.

And so, their mastermind had suggested that they should watch out for new chances, would start fresh somewhere else. The world was big, and with their skills, there was a lot they could do. That simply continuing what they had done for the past years was impossible though had been clear all the time.

Paying his good, old friend a visit had seemed to be a good idea in Eliot's opinion. He would stay at the farm, maybe for a couple of weeks, maybe for a couple of months. Frank was always in need of help, and would never mind to let him stay at his house as long as he wanted to.

His plan had taken an unexpected turn in Dallas already. Parker had shown up, wanting to join him. Briefly, he had wondered if he should try to talk her out of her idea. She was stubborn though, just like him. No one could just talk her out of an idea.

And so, Parker had joined Eliot. He had expected her to get bored soon, to approach him and ask if they couldn't head anywhere else. A farm, with animals, and having to do normal, hard work every single day: he just hadn't been able to see her enjoying something like that.

He had been proven wrong by her though. Parker had adjusted to her new surroundings faster than Eliot would have ever dared to imagine. She had realised that there was indeed more to her than just a talented thief. She was able to learn fast, and very soon, she had accepted the farm as her new home.

Weeks had turned into months, and months had turned into years. By this time, both had gotten used to living at a farm so much that they couldn't really imagine simply leaving it behind again, even if Nate would suddenly show up, asking for a reunion. Eliot was no longer surprised that Parker wasn't bored by the work they had to do every single day. For the first time, she was experiencing stability, and she was enjoying it.

Still, Eliot made sure Parker wouldn't forget the woman she had once been. He didn't want her to wake up one day, wondering if she had lost herself somewhere along the line. And so, he was trying his best to come up with activities that could keep her entertained and would occasionally distract her from the all day life they shared at the farm. Once a month, they would take a ride and sleep in the fields, repeating the first date she had loved so much. Once a month, he would take her to Dallas, would let her pick a skyscraper and jump off it with her.

And, every half a year, all of them would visit the farmer's market together, where Parker would use her newly developed skills to participate in the event's horse race.

This fact still amused him. Eliot hadn't forgotten Parker's almost paralysing fear of horses when they had arrived at the farm years ago. He also hadn't forgotten how she had wanted to talk herself out of a job once, simply because horses would be involved. Obviously, a certain horse had eventually earned her trust and she had learnt that those animals didn't mean any harm. Very soon, she had learnt how much fun horseback riding could really be, and had urged him to train her.

Now, a few years later, she was fantastic at her new hobby, was good enough to participate in the market's race. Things changed with the time, more and more. 

Same counted for feelings. When Eliot had discovered that he wasn't seeing Parker as just a friend anymore, he had wondered if a relationship between the two of them could work. Now, almost four years after getting together, he had the answer for his question. Being around Parker could be exhausting, and quite frustrating at times. Actually being together with her was so much easier than anything he had expected.

“You think she'll win the race this time?” Nataly wanted to know then, her voice interrupting him in his thoughts. Eliot needed a moment to remember that he was still at the farmer's market, leaning against the railing that surrounded the racing course. “She's getting better and better.”

“Yeah, she is.” Eliot smiled as he spotted Parker, sitting on Teddy's back, between the other participants. Even from the distance, he could tell how impatient she was getting. “Calm down, Parker, you don't want to be disqualified for starting too early, right?”

His smile grew into a grin as he could hear her groan via the earbud he was wearing. After her first race, she had admitted that being entirely on her own with Teddy had made her nervous. He had looked for the earbuds both of them had kept, and had suggested that he could stay in contact with her during the race. The idea had worked quite well so far.

“I just don't get why we always have to wait so much before the race starts,” she complained. “Teddy hates it, too. Don't you, Teddy? It's silly to wait all the time while you want to just race.”

Rolling his eyes, Eliot shook his head at her. Patience was still something she had to learn. She was good at concentrating when she had to get work done. But when a potential adrenaline kick was ahead, she could barely control herself.

He resisted the urge to laugh as she sighed deeply in relief the moment the racers were told to get ready. He could see how Parker brought herself in position, her entire body tensing in concentration. Her well-trained body was a bonus for an activity like this.

One single shot was fired then, and the race started. Pure adrenaline was pumped through her system as she made her horse go faster and faster.

“Come on, Parker, you can do it!” Eliot encouraged her as she left one participant after the other behind her. “You can pass that one on the right.”

Frank chuckled. “You know, if I was one of the others...I'd be a little pissed because she's learnt it so fast while they're experting their skills since their childhoods already.”

Eliot shrugged. “That's Parker after all. You know, the woman who's jumping off skyscrapers. She might not be as experted as them, but she's willing to risk more.” A proud grin lit his face as she passed another man and his horse. She was getting closer and closer to the finish line.

“Come on, there's just one more between you and your win!” he shouted, almost getting overwhelmed by his own rush of adrenaline.

And indeed, she did it. Right in front of the finish line, Parker passed the rider in question. A triumphant scream erupted from her as she realised she had indeed won the race. Eliot barely heard Frank and Nataly cheered in joy as he jumped over the railing that separated the guests from the racing course. Parker had just gotten off Teddy's back as he reached her. Tossing her helmet aside, she jumped into his arms, hugging him as tightly as humanly possible.

“I did it!” she exclaimed, her eyes sparkling in pure excitement and happiness. “I did it! I won my first horse race! I, of all people! Can you believe it? Can you believe I did it?!”

Eliot could only laugh in response. Her arms and legs wrapped more firmly around him as her lips crashed onto his in a deep, passionate kiss. He had been proud of her before, for so many different reasons. Never, he would have dared to imagine that one day, he would be proud because Parker had just won a horse race. He held her tight as they parted and she hugged him again. Only when he became aware of Frank and Nataly, he carefully freed himself of her embrace.

“You have to go and get your trophy!” Nataly said, with sparkling eyes of her own. The teenage girl had accepted Parker as some mix of big sister, friend and idol a long time ago. When he had been too busy to train her, the girl had jumped in to offer a few horseback riding lessons. Firmly, she grabbed Parker's hand now and pulled the overly excited woman with her.

“Wow,” Frank said, nodding impressed. “I always knew she's good, but that she'd actually win...Didn't see that coming, to be quite honest.”

“I did.” Eliot couldn't help but grin even more. “That woman's determined. If she wants to win, she will win.” He watched her for a moment as she and Nataly made their way through the crowd. As he turned to his friend then, he raised his eyebrows questioningly. “What?”

“Oh, nothing.” Frank grinned back in response. “There are just those moments, you know.”

“Which moments?” Eliot asked back. “Come on, man. Parker's finally learning to voice her thoughts in a way so that they make sense, and now it's you getting all cryptic?”

Frank laughed. “Nah, don't worry. I'm talking about those moments when you remember what was going on a few years ago. You know, I still remember how the two of you showed up here for the first time. You weren't too convinced she'd like being here. Or that she'd get used to this at all. You also weren't too sure spending so much time with each other would be a good idea in the first place. And now...” He offered a knowing smirk.

Eliot sighed playfully. “Yeah, yeah. Now look at us. We're still at your farm, she likes it a lot, and we're together for almost four years now. Surprise, surprise! I didn't see that coming either.”

“Yeah, but feelings can't be controlled, right?” Frank asked back. “You can be friends for years, just to suddenly fall in love with each other. Despite your best intentions. And despite you not wanting to ever fall in love again. But then there's Parker and boom, there are the feelings.”

Eliot rolled his eyes at his friend. “Are we seriously having this conversation right now?”

Frank just shrugged. “Well, it's true, isn't it? You love her. A lot.”

Those words, combined with the expression in Frank's eyes, made Eliot raise his eyebrows in suspicion. “What exactly are you trying to tell me, huh?” he wanted to know.

Frank shrugged again. “Well, nothing, really. Just that you love her. And she loves you. You're together for years now, and it's working pretty well. Despite what you expected, and despite the two of you being the most complicated people I've ever met. Maybe that's even why you're working as a couple so well. Because no matter how different you might be from each other in some ways, there's also a lot you have in common.”

Eliot sighed again. “Frank. Just spill it already.”

“Fine.” It was Frank's turn to shake his head. “I'm just wondering when you're going to ask her the question of all questions.”

“The...” Eliot needed another moment to understand what his friend was talking about. His eyes widened in disbelief as realisation hit him. “Are you kidding me? I'm not going to propose to her, if that's what you're having in mind!”

“Why not?” Frank asked back. “What's the matter with getting married? It's a natural thing a lot of people do after a while, when they realise that they really love each other. I made that step as well.”

“Yeah, and we both know what happened to your marriage,” Eliot pointed out.

Frank sighed. “Yeah, mine was quite a failure. But come on, just because my marriage didn't work out doesn't mean it always have to be that way.”

Eliot shrugged. “Maybe. Just because you love someone doesn't mean you have to marry them. I'm not that much into that whole marriage stuff. You can just be together, can't you? It's about the feelings after all, not some piece of paper.”

“We both know it's more than just a piece of paper,” Frank stated. “And we both also know that this isn't really your view on the whole thing either. I know, you and her aren't into the traditional romantic stuff. But being married...it's not about clichés, you know? It's also not just about a piece of paper either. It's about making a promise.”

“A promise?” Eliot asked back.

Frank nodded. “You're officially promising that you belong to this one person, and to no one else. Doesn't matter if you think that's romantic or not. You can say whatever you like, but there is a difference between just being together and knowing that woman by your side is your wife and promised to always be yours.”

“That does sound kinda sappy, you know?” Eliot replied.

Frank just grinned. “We both know it doesn't.”

With those words, he offered a wink and walked off into the opposite direction. Eliot's attention turned back to Parker, who was just happily accepting her trophy for winning the race. Once again, he shook his head, before he followed his friend.

\----------------------

Although it was past midnight already, people still didn't seem to get tired enough to stop partying. Even inside the small hotel room, one could still hear laughter and singing. Getting Parker away from the chocolate salesman she had discovered had been a challenge of its own, but eventually, Eliot had succeeded, even though he had to carry her back to the hotel.

Now she was getting ready for bed in the bathroom, at least he hoped so. Various times, he had carefully listened to her actions through the closed door, wanting to make sure that she wouldn't just escape through the window. Fortunately, she had slowly started to get tired on their way home, and a possible escape didn't seem to be an option anymore.

The farmer's market had been as lovely as every year, but Eliot couldn't deny he had wasted a lot of time with being too distracted to really focus. Frank's words had caught his attention more than he would have ever dared to imagine. Marriage hadn't even come to his mind yet, at least not for himself and Parker.

But was his friend right? What exactly was wrong with the idea of getting married, of making this promise of all promises? Of course he knew various marriages that had failed. Frank's was just one example. But did every marriage have to turn out that way? Didn't some of them actually work?

Could he and Parker handle being married? He had been hesitant with believing that they could make a relationship work, but had already been proven wrong with that. What about marriage?

In Frank's eyes, they seemed to be the perfect couple for making this step. Because they were different. Because they didn't have high, unrealistic expectations when it came to being together. They weren't trying to turn each other into perfect partners. They were simply accepting each other the way they were, hadn't wasted much time with setting up rules for their relationship. And it was working. It was working perfectly well. So who said that getting married would ruin things between them? Who said they wouldn't benefit from making this promise instead?

His thoughts were interrupted as the bathroom door was opened. Eliot resisted the urge to laugh at the sight of his girlfriend. Parker had obviously come down from her sugar high already, and could barely keep herself on walking anymore. With a deep sigh, she let herself fall onto the bed, staring towards the ceiling for a moment before she squeezed her eyes shut.

“I did something bad in there,” she admitted quietly.

“And what could that be?” Eliot asked back, although he had a clear idea of what she had done.

“I threw up,” Parker confirmed his theory. “That was too much chocolate I think.”

“Or maybe you just ate too much in general?” He winked at her. “You know, tons of chocolate, along with tons of meat, beer and stuff like that...not the best combination for your stomach.”

She groaned in response. “At least I didn't throw up all over you when you carried me home.” Then, despite her pale face and the fact that she didn't seem to feel well, she grinned. “Can you believe it? I won the horse race. I! I did it!”

“You can be really proud of yourself,” he told her. In more than one way, he wanted to add. Winning the race was one thing. Having to overcome her fear of horses and learning how to ride a horse was a different story. Lying down beside her, he studied her in silence. Parker was staring towards the ceiling again, a happy and content smile spreading across her face. She was happy. Simply happy. And in his eyes, she never looked more beautiful than in moments like this. It was a sight that warmed his heart, in a way he still needed to get used to, but which he loved more than anything.

“Will you marry me?” Eliot asked then, before he knew what he was doing. His eyes widened in shock as he realised what he had done. For a brief second, he wondered if there was a chance she hadn't heard his question, but as she turned to look at him, he knew this chance wasn't an option.

“What?” Parker asked, giving him a surprised look.

“Um...well.” His voice trailed off. He cursed himself mentally as he could only stare back at her. And he cursed Frank for having put this thought into his mind in the first place. Eliot didn't know where exactly the urge to ask this question all of the sudden had come from. Could he blame the fact that he had been thinking about the topic too much, or did he really want to marry her?

“Are you going to take it back?” she wanted to know as he hadn't answered her question or repeated his words after minutes.

“Do you...want me to?” he chose to ask back, unable to come up with anything else.

“Did you mean it?”

Eliot sighed. She wouldn't allow him to take an easy way out, and at least this time, it was his job to take the risk and be honest. Her question wasn't a difficult one: did he mean it or not? The answer wasn't difficult either, so he realised then, much to his own surprise.

“Yeah, I meant it,” he admitted, to himself and to her.

To his growing surprise, Parker smiled in response. “Then I don't want you to take it back.” She paused, staring back at him for a moment before she added, “Ask me again.”

He hesitated for not more than a couple of seconds. “Will you marry me?” Eliot repeated his earlier question, this time being aware of what he was doing.

Parker's smile widened. “Yes,” she answered.

One word. But said word, along with the way she had said it, answered so many questions, and made him realise something he hadn't considered yet. Just because he had seen the problematic side of a marriage didn't mean same counted for her, and he couldn't help but wonder if Parker had her very own definition of what being married meant.

“Are you sure?” he couldn't help but ask.

She laughed. “Of course, silly. You're mine already anyway. So why wouldn't I want to marry you?”

Another answer, stated as if it was the most obvious fact. Eliot stared back at her in silence, simply allowing himself to think about her words for a moment. Was it possible that he believed things were a lot more complicated than they really were? Could things really be so easy? She was his anyway, and he was hers. So why shouldn't they get married? It made sense. At least to her. And more and more, it was starting to make sense to him, too.

“I think then I have to get you an engagement ring now,” he said.

She smiled excitedly. “Oh yes! We can do that when we're going to Dallas next time. Something sparkly.” With those words, she moved closer. “What a cool day, huh? First I win the horse race, and now we're going to get married. Quite awesome.”

“Yeah, indeed,” he agreed.

Parker offered another grin before she kissed him. Instinctively, Eliot wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer. It never failed to fascinate him how easy things could be with her. Even proposing was so different to what he had expected. And most likely, same would count for being married. After all, they were different to everyone else they knew.


	13. Chapter 13

One year ago

That she would get married one day had never come to Parker's mind. After all, she hadn't even expected that she would ever have friends either. Friends. Friendship. This meant that one had to trust in others, had to allow them to get closer. And as soon as she trusted in a person, there was the chance said person would either dump or hurt her.

Disappointment was one of those feelings Parker knew only too well. Most people in her past had disappointed her, in many different ways. Somewhere along the line, she had learnt that the only person she could really trust in was herself. No one else. Things were simply easier that way in her opinion.

The team had taught her that there were in fact people she could trust in though. People she could rely on. This had been the main reason why having to separate had bothered her so much. Her friends hadn't dumped her. They wanted to stay together after all.

But fortunately, her stubborn mind had come up with a new plan, and so she had tracked down one of said friends, to travel with him. Eventually, she and Eliot had headed to a small farm, run by his friend Frank and daughter Nataly.

Now, four years later, this farm had turned into her home, and her former friend would be her husband in not even an hour. It still amazed her how things could turn out, and for once, she had to admit changes were great.

A wedding. Like so many times before, Parker shook her head in disbelief. Eliot's proposal had come out of nowhere, and she was quite sure he hadn't been prepared for it either. She knew very well that sometimes words just liked to come out though, especially if one really meant them.

He hadn't take those words back, and in her eyes, agreeing to marry him hadn't really been a hard choice either. After all, he was hers already, and she was his. Getting married would only mean they would make it official.

No, the wedding itself and the following marriage wasn't what made Parker shake her head. It was the fact that she had indeed fallen in love, and was enjoying it more than anything else she had ever experienced. There had been a time when this feeling in particular had scared her. Love meant one would be vulnerable. The person she loved would have power over her: the power to hurt her.

She didn't really see it that way anymore. Of course having such feelings for someone still made her feel vulnerable in some way, but also strong at the same time. It was a fascinating mix. Obviously being with the team had taught her more than she would have ever dared to imagine: having feelings was okay. Having feelings could even be great, and if she was honest to herself, she didn't want to imagine what it would be like to feel nothing at all again.

With raised eyebrows, Parker stared at her reflection in the mirror across of her. Nataly had tried every trick in the book to talk her into buying a proper wedding dress. Parker had disliked the idea of that so much that she had gotten to a point where she had tried to avoid the teenage girl on all costs, until Eliot had suggested that she could simply buy a normal white dress. Eventually, this idea seemed to be the best compromise.

Now there she stood in hers and his bedroom, wearing said dress, with her hair falling down onto her shoulders like a curtain of blonde locks. She couldn't tell whether or not she looked okay, or like a bride. To her, it was alright. She wouldn't have minded to get married in shorts and a t-shirt either.

A knocking at the door interrupted her in her thoughts then. “Come in,” she said.

“I'm not sure that's a good idea,” Eliot's voice said from the other side of the door. “They say you're not supposed to see the bride before the wedding. Or in her wedding dress. I'm not sure anymore.”

Parker rolled her eyes. “And you believe in that? First of all, what does 'before the wedding' mean? You saw me this morning. Second, I'm not even wearing a real wedding dress. And third...what's this about anyway? I mean, if that's the only reason why a marriage could fail, I'm surprised so many people get divorced all the time.”

She turned around, smirking satisfied as he didn't answer but instead let himself into their bedroom. He stopped near the door for a moment, taking her in.

“You think it's okay?” she wanted to know.

Eliot nodded. “Okay? It's perfect.”

“You look great yourself,” Parker said, with a growing smirk. “Although I wouldn't have minded if you had picked a suit.”

“Oh yeah? I don't think so.” Eliot grinned back at her. “If you don't dress up, I won't either.”

Parker sighed at his words. “Yeah, luckily I don't have to. I mean...wedding dresses...who needs those? Way too much fabric and all this weird stuff attached to them.” She shuddered. “Personally, I think you shouldn't wear anything you can't carry on your own. Besides, they're expensive, right? Bet I'd have already ruined it in some way by now.”

“Probably.” Stepping even closer, he studied her with a thoughtful expression. “Are you nervous?” he asked then.

She shook her head. “No. Why?”

Eliot shrugged. “Because I guess most people are nervous before they get married.”

“I don't see why,” Parker admitted. “I mean, you already know I love you, and I know you love me. It's just you, me, Frank, Nataly and the priest. It's not so difficult, really.” She raised her eyebrows as he laughed at her words. “What?”

“I think I've never met a woman who has such an opinion about weddings,” he told her. “When you say 'wedding', most women freak out.”

“Is it bad I'm behaving like this?” she wanted to know. “I mean...that I'm not getting all nervous and hyped up? Did I misunderstand it? It's not that I'm not excited of course! Not at all. It's just...it feels normal to me, you know? Like a normal thing to do.”

He nodded. “Yeah, and that's what I love about you. You don't make a hype out of things.” With a wink, he added, “Means it's perfectly okay to behave that way.”

He wanted to add more but was interrupted by the bedroom door being pushed open again. Both of them turned around, just to stare in a mix of surprise and disbelief by who stood in the middle of their bedroom now.

“How could you not tell me the two of you are going to get married?!” Hardison wanted to know, a huge grin plastered across his face. “I'm glad I found out just in time for the big event!”

Unable to react right away, Eliot and Parker exchanged a short glance. Facing Hardison instead of Frank or Nataly, like expected, had simply made them speechless. Four years had passed since they had seen their friend for the last time. Four years of being apart, after spending almost every single day with each other for years. Parker didn't need Eliot to say anything to know he was thinking and feeling the same way about the situation as she did: the utter surprise was quickly replaced by a strong, almost overwhelming rush of excitement and joy.

“Are you going to stand and stare all day long?” Hardison asked then.

The question eventually shook them back to the present. Both received tight hugs from the hacker, who barely could prevent himself from breaking out into tears.

“How did you find us?” Eliot wanted to know.

Hardison chuckled. “Coincidentally, I noticed you guys have been wearing your earbuds a few weeks ago. I know, man, we were supposed to separate and all, but I couldn't help but look up where you went. From there, it was pretty easy. Stayed in Dallas for a while, as I wanted to surprise you. And what did I find out then? You're going to get married!” He shook his head in disbelief. “For real? The two of you? Getting married? I'm wondering who's the surprised one now!”

Parker just laughed in response. With a smile on her face, she listened as Eliot summed up what they had been doing at the farm, how things had changed between them somewhere along the line, and to Hardison sharing his own story with them. There was no doubt that they couldn't have received a nicer wedding gift.

\---------------------

If it had been entirely up to Parker, there wouldn't have been a party after the wedding. Instead, she would have prepared a huge dinner together with Eliot, maybe allowing Frank and Nataly to help as well.

In an anonymous city, that might have even worked. If one lived in a small town though, that was a different story. Frank had a lot of friends out here: friends that knew about the wedding and expected to be invited.

Fortunately their friend had agreed to take care of the entire party: they just had to smile, accept the gifts and cards, and could then sneak out if they wanted to. Parker had done exactly that a few minutes ago, when the hugs of whoever had come to celebrate with them had gotten too much.

Grateful that she was only wearing her plain white dress, she had walked over to her favourite tree and had climbed up to her favourite branch. Up here, she had a clear view across the fields and the guests.

And up here, she also had the chance to just think for a bit, to mentally replay the wedding itself. It had turned out exactly the way she had wanted it to: simple and beautiful, just about them.

Now they were married. Husband and wife. The words still made her shiver, in a delicious way. He was hers, and she was his. She liked the idea of that. They belonged together, and now they had made it official.

Parker's smile widened as she heard the familiar sound of footsteps approaching then. Eliot didn't comment on the fact that she was sitting in her tree instead of at one of the overly decorate tables, together with the other guests. A few seconds later, and he was sitting by her side.

“I didn't expect you to join me up here,” she admitted surprised as she turned to him.

He smiled in response. “We just got married, didn't we? You don't think I'd rather like to spend time with my new wife than with all those party guests?”

Parker mirrored his smile. “I bet Hardison's having a great time. Especially as he finally has a girlfriend now. She seems to be nice.”

Eliot nodded in agreement. “Yeah, he seems to be happy. Speaking of Hardison though, he just told me he plans on moving to Dallas. So he can come around for a visit here and there. Thinks there's no need to keep on staying away from each other all the time.”

“I like the idea.” Leaning into him as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, she took in the landscape in front of her again, blinding out the noises the guests were making. They sat in silence for a while until she spoke up again. “I'm wondering what Nate and Sophie are doing now.”

“Surely having fun somewhere.” Eliot shrugged. “Does it bother you they weren't around for the wedding as well?”

“Would've been nice,” she admitted. “But then again...” She hesitated. “See...if we all got back together...”

Her voice trailed off. What would happen if they all got back together? For years now, the two of them were living at Frank's farm, working out here, having adjusted to a life that was so entirely different to everything she had known prior to separating again. Four years ago, she had hated the idea of starting fresh. Now that she had actually done it, she couldn't imagine what it would be like if the entire team was reunited. Would Nate maybe even ask them to start taking jobs again? Would they have to give up on what they had created for themselves during those past few years?

“You're thinking too much,” Eliot said then, causing her to snap back to the present.

“Says the right one.” Parker shook her head at him. Sighing then, she shook her head. He was right: she was indeed thinking too much. For years, there hadn't been any interruptions, nothing that had threatened to mess up the tiny, little world they had created for themselves. Even if all of them were reunited, it didn't mean she had to face changes again.

Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and focused on something else instead. Immediately, new images found their way into her mind. Not even an hour ago, they had gotten married. She was a married woman now. Who would have expected that? An amused smile lit her face, and she couldn't suppress the chuckle that escaped her.

“What's so funny?” he wanted to know.

Opening her eyes again, Parker smirked up at him. “I don't know. It's just...crazy, isn't it? You and I...we're married. You and I of all people! I can understand why that surprised Hardison so much. Then again, he probably has something else in mind when he thinks about a married couple.”

“I bet he also had something else in mind when he thought about a wedding,” Eliot answered with a wink. Tightening his arm around her shoulders, he placed a kiss onto her forehead.

“You didn't plan on asking me that at all at the farmer's market, right?” she couldn't help but ask. “If I wanted to marry you. It just came out, didn't it? I wonder why. I mean, it's always me who blurts out what she's thinking, not you. Usually, you always know what's coming out of your mouth.”

Playfully, he rolled his eyes at her. “Yeah, surprise, surprise, I did something without thinking.” He grinned at the look she gave him in response. “This can happen to the best of us, you know? That you say something without thinking.”

“Wasn't even the first time,” she pointed out. “Like that one time, on our first date. Remember how you said that we could make it a monthly tradition, and then you took it back because you just announced you wanted to stay here without asking me first?” She offered a grin of her own. “Why are you looking embarrassed now?”

“I'm not embarrassed,” he said, narrowing his eyes at her. “How should I know why I'm not in control over what I'm saying anymore?”

“I think I know,” Parker stated.

Eliot gave her a disbelieving look. “Oh yeah? Care to share?”

With a growing grin, she nodded. “You're doing that because you're feeling comfortable. You know, you've not always been that comfortable around the team. Took you quite a while to trust in us and let us in. Took you even longer to be comfortable around us. Since we're here though...you seem to relax even more. And when you relax, you're not always in control over what you're doing, because you don't invest so much thinking into every single thing you're doing. That means out of nowhere, you say something because you've been thinking about it and because you mean it, and you wonder why you did it because usually, you wouldn't have done it. Well, you did it because you were relaxed and because it felt right. That's why.”

Curiously, she glanced back at him, waiting for an answer. But he didn't say anything. In a mix of surprise and disbelief, he stared back at her instead, needing a while until he could respond.

“Where's that suddenly coming from?” he managed to say eventually.

Parker laughed. “Why so surprised? I know I always had my problems with understanding people, but sometimes, I do get them. Especially when they're feeling just like me. Because that whole relaxing around people and doing things you usually wouldn't do...I know exactly what it's like. Thanks to the team, but especially thanks to you. So I thought maybe that'd be your reason for doing what you're doing, too.” Tilting her head to the side, she asked, “Am I right?”

“I guess so.” Eliot smiled back at her, and she couldn't help but wonder if he looked almost proud. Proud of her.

Making herself comfortable on the branch again, she leant back into him, enjoying the way he instinctively held her closer.

“I'm sure we're going to be the best married couple ever,” she said then.

“Yeah, I think you could be right with that,” he agreed.

And with those words, Parker and Eliot returned to simply sitting in the tree together, enjoying the view in front of them and each other's company.


	14. Chapter 14

Present day

There had been quite a few parties happening at the farm in the past. Eliot's and Parker's wedding had just been one of them. Nataly had always been pleased whenever she had been allowed to decorate, and now that Sophie was around, she seemed to be even happier, having found someone who shared this passion with her.

Years ago, the team had separated, having no idea when they would be able to see each other again. Or if there was a chance for a reunion in the first place. During those years, the teammates had started fresh, had tried something else and created a new life for themselves.

They had scattered across the world, knowing very well that neither of them could go back to doing what they had been used to do. Even on their own, that wasn't a good idea. They simply had to wait and see, until people would stop talking about them.

And somewhere along the line, they had stopped waiting. Because weeks had turned into months, which had turned into years. Who knew how many more years had to pass until they could finally reunite? Who knew how long they had to wait?

Five years after separating, the day had eventually come. Nate and Sophie had stayed at the farm for an entire week. Eventually, they had called Hardison, asking him to come around for a visit, and for a proper reunion.

By this time, Eliot could see that Parker was no longer bothered by the unexpected turns of events that had occurred when they had run into Nate and Sophie at Jack's hardware shop. For Parker, the changes she had to face during the past few years had been the biggest. It had been difficult enough for her to become part of a team in the first place. Then what she had gotten used to so much had been messed up because of their separation. She had approached him, hoping that they could somehow start fresh together.

And it had worked. Parker, the crazy thief, had learnt to live at a farm, do the rough and often hard work that came with it. She had gotten used to stability and a regular all day life. She had come to like animals, and had even learnt how to ride a horse. She had found a place she could call 'home', had fallen in love and even gotten married.

So was it a surprise she had been thrown off her balance when those familiar faces from the past had reappeared? Certainly not. Eliot couldn't blame her at all. Unlike her, he had found it rather easy to get used to their new surroundings, but even he had gotten to the point where he couldn't see himself doing anything else anymore. At least for a while. Frank and Nataly had become family. Out here, he wasn't able to forget, but could leave the past behind and just be, without constantly being reminded of who he had once been.

Unlike Parker, he hadn't been worried about Nate's and Sophie's return. After all, he was convinced by his own words: if they didn't want to return to what they had once been, they wouldn't. It was entirely up to them, and no one could blackmail them into anything. At least he wouldn't allow that to happen.

Because he loved how they had turned out to be during those past years too much. Parker seemed to be a lot happier, even without being on happy pills. She had learnt not to steal, just did it at times for fun, and would always give back what she would take. Something deep within her seemed to have been fixed, and he wouldn't let anyone mess with that.

It also didn't seem like anyone was planning to do so. When Hardison arrived, the rest of the old team had gathered in the huge backyard of the main house. Frank and Nataly had announced that they would be in town for the rest of the day, allowing the friends to celebrate a proper reunion.

And that was needed. Had the first meeting with Nate and Sophie been awkward, mainly due to all the changes the mastermind and grifter had to see, and because of Parker's fear, things had eased a lot ever since that day a week ago. It almost felt like in the old days, and for a brief moment, Eliot couldn't deny that in some ways, he missed what they had had.

Because they had been the best for a reason. Five entirely different people had met, had learnt that as a team, they were even better than alone. They had done a lot of good with their jobs, had helped those that couldn't help themselves. And it had felt good: to be part of this as much as what they had actually been doing.

But while he couldn't deny the old times had been amazing, same counted for what he had now. He couldn't turn his back on the farm, even if Parker had been willing to. It was hard enough to find a home. It was almost impossible to give it back then.

“It's been a while since we've been sitting together like that,” Nate said then, interrupting Eliot in his thoughts. They were sitting around the large dining table now, which had been dragged out into the backyard, had been placed in the middle of the large meadow. A tall tree was offering some shadow in which they could hide from the mercilessly shining sun.

“Yeah, far too long.” Hardison sighed. “Man, I knew we wanted to start fresh and all. But not seeing each other for so long? Not cool.” He offered a playful glare. “I mean, you two and you two, you had each other. I was totally on my own until I moved to Dallas!”

“Yes, that didn't go so well, did it?” Sophie smiled apologetically. Then she sighed: a deep, comfortable sigh. “But now we're back. A lot has changed, but I think one thing has stayed the same.”

“We're still friends,” Parker said, nodding her head. Eliot couldn't help but smile at her words. Finally, after a whole week, she was able to see that. They were still friends. And friends didn't ruin each other's happiness. They would accept it instead, or come up with a compromise.

“What are you planning to do next?” he decided to ask then. The question had been spinning in his mind for a while, especially during the last few days. It was clear to everyone that Nate and Sophie wouldn't stay at the farm, and definitely wouldn't move in here.

But what would happen instead? Would they continue their journey around the world? Would the team separate again, and only meet occasionally? Would they return to what they had created for themselves during the past few years? The look, which Nate and Sophie exchanged, revealed that they had invested quite a lot of thoughts into this topic as well.

“As some of you might remember, I was thinking of a proper reunion at first. At least, I was playing with the idea,” Nate answered eventually. “Because that's what we originally planned: to reunite one day and go back to what we had all those years ago. Then again, I realised that's not just going to work like that, because you guys did quite well with what I told you to do. You started fresh. You created something that's your home now, and I don't want anyone of you to feel like they're dragged out of what they love.”

He looked at Parker in particular at those words, and the young woman offered an almost shy smile in response. Yes, Nate had understood eventually, and he wasn't going to mess with Parker's fear. Eliot had told her so, but he assumed that something else had happened which had eventually convinced both, mastermind and former thief.

“Let me guess,” Hardison said then. “You got a backup plan, huh?”

“We do indeed.” Nate's smile softened. “It's just a suggestion though, and you can think of it whatever you like. Neither Sophie nor I are going to talk you into anything. We separated longer than I wanted us to, and you did well with your fresh starts. So accept this as some kind of invitation, and take it if you like.”

He waited until the team nodded, signalling him to go on. Nate took a deep breath before he continued, “Sophie and I agreed to move to Dallas as well. That way, we're not too far apart anymore. We can meet whenever we like. It's a nice city after all, and we agreed that we've seen enough of the world for now.” He paused again, hesitating for a moment. “And we thought that maybe, we could still return to what we've been doing. Just not as a full time job, so to speak.”

“Means?” Eliot wanted to know, although he had a rather clear idea of what Nate was suggesting.

“Means I'll watch out for clients again,” Nate said. “There should surely be enough people in the surrounding area with need of help. Then, if I found something, I'd contact you, see if you're available. If you are, good. If not, we'll see if we can somehow handle the job anyway, with some help from the distance here and there.”

“The plan is to allow you guys more freedom,” Sophie explained. “You guys should continue to do what you love. Like living at this beautiful place here, working with Frank.” Sophie's smile widened as Parker nodded slowly. “We want to combine both worlds: yours and the one we once had. That way, we could reunite, but without having to give up on our own little worlds.”

“So a compromise?” Hardison nodded. He stared ahead in concentration for a moment, then a broad grin lit his face. “Well, I don't know about anyone else, but I'm so in, guys! Part time doing good things? Sounds like a plan to me.”

It was Nate's turn to nod. “And what about you?” he asked, turning his attention to the couple in front of him. “You don't have to say anything yet. Especially not as you might want to discuss this first. It's just an offer, and you can be part of it as much or as little as you like.”

He was trying his best to sound convincing, but Eliot knew Nate long enough to see right through him. The man was clearly hoping for one answer only. Because he wanted the team back, even more now that they were all back together, sitting around a dining table like they used to in the past. The team was family. And he wanted it back.

But Nate had also understood that there were lines he couldn't cross. Certainly, he could somehow con the team into getting back together, but somewhere along the line, he had learnt that this would be a step too far, too much. No, he wanted them to come back willingly, and no matter how much he wanted to push them, he wouldn't.

Then, Eliot turned his attention to Parker. Parker, who was calmly looking ahead, with a surprisingly relaxed and content expression in her eyes. Feeling his gaze resting on her, she allowed her eyes to meet his.

And within a matter of seconds, Eliot knew what Parker was thinking. “You think you'd be okay with stealing something again?” he couldn't help but ask. After all, she had learnt to be happy without it. He doubted she would ever return to being how she had once been. She hadn't been been avoiding it after all: slowly, very slowly, she had simply lost interest in it, because she had been too busy with other things. Things that would still be around, would still demand her attention. Things that would still make her happy.

“It's to help people, right?” she stated, her smile widening. “Sounds a bit like having the best of both worlds, somehow.” She looked at Nate briefly, who nodded. Turning back to Eliot, she added, “I like his idea. I do. Because...I did miss the team. You know I did. I just...I was afraid we'd have to leave the farm.”

“No one would make you leave the farm, Parker,” Sophie assured her. “That's why we came up with a compromise. That way, we can have everything. Whatever you like.”

Parker nodded again. “Well, I like it,” she said again. Reaching out, she placed a hand on top of his arm, squeezing it lightly. “Imagine, what an adventure that would be. In the morning, we're checking the fences and feeding the horses, and in the afternoon, we're kicking the butt of a bad guy.”

“Yeah, best of everything,” Eliot stated before he turned to Nate. “Guess there you have your answer already. Let's restart the team again.”

Nate didn't say anything in response. All he offered was a smile, but said smile revealed more than words could. Once again, Eliot turned his attention back to Parker, who was still looking at him. He could see she was happy with the compromise, allowing them to stay at the farm and be part of their old family again. After years of being apart, the team's dynamic would be different. But those years hadn't changed that they were still closer than friends, that the strong connection between each and every member of the team was still strong. Once again, they would start fresh, in a way that would satisfy everyone.


End file.
